Current Affairs search results for tag: national
By admin: Oct. 3, 2022

1. UNESCO launches list documenting 50 iconic Indian heritage textiles

Tags: National National News

UNESCO released a list of 50 exclusive and iconic heritage textile crafts of the country.

Important facts 

  • According to UNESCO, the major challenge to protect the intangible cultural heritage of the South Asian region is the lack of proper inventory and documentation.

  • UNESCO's publication aims to bridge this gap.

  • UNESCO lists 50 textiles as Distinctive and Prestigious Heritage Textile Crafts of India after conducting extensive research.

Listed some important textile crafts of India

  • Toda embroidery and Sungadi of Tamil Nadu

  • Himroo weaves of Hyderabad in Telangana

  • Bandha tie and dye weaving of Sambalpur in Odisha

  • Khes from Panipat in Haryana

  • Chamba rumals of Himachal Pradesh

  • Thigma or wool tie and dye of Ladakh

  • Awadh Jamdani from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh

  • Ilkal and Lambadi or Banjara embroidery from Karnataka

  • Sikalnayakanpet Kalamkari from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu

  • Kunbi weaves from Goa

  • Mashru weaves and Patola from Gujarat

  • Himroo from Maharashtra

  • Garad-Koirial of West Bengal

By admin: Oct. 3, 2022

2. UNESCO launches list documenting 50 iconic Indian heritage textiles

Tags: National National News

UNESCO released a list of 50 exclusive and iconic heritage textile crafts of the country.

Important facts 

  • According to UNESCO, the major challenge to protect the intangible cultural heritage of the South Asian region is the lack of proper inventory and documentation.

  • UNESCO's publication aims to bridge this gap.

  • UNESCO lists 50 textiles as Distinctive and Prestigious Heritage Textile Crafts of India after conducting extensive research.

Listed some important textile crafts of India

  • Toda embroidery and Sungadi of Tamil Nadu

  • Himroo weaves of Hyderabad in Telangana

  • Bandha tie and dye weaving of Sambalpur in Odisha

  • Khes from Panipat in Haryana

  • Chamba rumals of Himachal Pradesh

  • Thigma or wool tie and dye of Ladakh

  • Awadh Jamdani from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh

  • Ilkal and Lambadi or Banjara embroidery from Karnataka

  • Sikalnayakanpet Kalamkari from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu

  • Kunbi weaves from Goa

  • Mashru weaves and Patola from Gujarat

  • Himroo from Maharashtra

  • Garad-Koirial of West Bengal

By admin: Oct. 3, 2022

3. Burkina Faso coup: Deposed military leader Damiba 'resigns'

Tags: International News

There has been a military coup in the West African country of Burkina Faso. Deposed military leader Damiba 'resigned' on 2 October. A new military takeover has been announced in Burkina Faso.

Important facts

  • Paul-Henri Sandogo Damiba offered his resignation, to avoid confrontation with serious human and material consequences.

  • Nine months ago, the President was removed from office through a military coup in the country, for the first time in 2022.

  • On 29 September, 2022, an army officer on state television announced the dissolution of the current government and the dismissal of the junta leader, President Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Henri Damiba.

  • Army Captain Ibrahim Traore will now take over the reins of the country's ruling junta, as president of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguards and Restoration.

About Burkina Faso

  • Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa.

  • It is bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and the Ivory Coast to the southwest.

  • It was formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta.

  • Capital - Ouagadougou

  • Form Of Government - military regime

  • Official Language - French

  • Currency - Franc

By admin: Oct. 3, 2022

4. The Indian Army deploys M777 Howitzers

Tags: Defence National News

The Indian Army has deployed the M777 Ultra Light Howitzer (155 mm) in the harsh terrain of the country's northern border.

Important facts

  • This gun is highly transportable for rapid deployment to meet any operational contingency.

  • In the next five years, there are plans to induct several guns, including indigenous ones, into the Army's artillery regiments.

  • India has contracted 145 M777 guns from BAE Systems (British Aerospace) and more than half of them have been inducted.

  • The Indian Army has also deployed the K9 Vajra-T52-caliber self-propelled artillery gun in Ladakh.

M777 Ultra Light Howitzer

  • The M777 is a key component of the Army's Field Artillery Rationalization Plan (FARP), which was approved in 1999.

  • The 155 mm/39-caliber M777 howitzer has a range of up to 30 km, but is capable of striking targets at ranges of more than 40 km in some areas.

  • Built with titanium and aluminum alloys, the howitzers weigh 4,218 kg.

  • The Indian Air Force CH-47F Chinook helicopter can carry the howitzer as an underslung load for rapid deployment in high altitude areas.

By admin: Oct. 3, 2022

5. Nord Stream pipeline leakages

Tags: International News

Sweden's coast guard said on 29 September that it had detected a fourth leak in two damaged Nord Stream pipelines.

Important facts

  • These leaks are occurring in important Nord Stream pipelines (Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2).

  • These pipelines carry natural gas from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany.

  • Earlier this week two other leaks were found near Denmark.

  • The Danish military released a video saying it had seen gas bubbles on the surface of the sea off the island of Bornholm.

  • At the time of the leak, both were not supplying gas to Europe. Methane leaks from broken pipelines have also caused serious concern to environmentalists.

  • Germany is Russia’s biggest European gas consumer, and most of it comes through the Nord Stream.

Nord Stream Pipeline

  • Nord Stream has two pipelines, each containing two lines.

  1. Nord Stream 1

  • It was completed in 2011. It runs from Vyborg in northwest Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany via the Baltic Sea.

  1. Nord Stream 2 

  • In 2015, Russian energy major Gazprom and five other European firms decided to form Nord Stream 2.

  • It runs from Ust-Luga in Russia to Greifswald in Germany through the Baltic Sea and was completed in September 2021.

  • It will carry 55 billion cubic metres of gas every year.

  • Nord Stream 1 and 2 together will supply an aggregate of 110 billion cubic metres of gas to Germany per year. 

  • The pipeline falls in the territory of EU members Germany and Denmark.

  • In December 2019, work on the project was suspended due to the threat of US sanctions.

  • In January 2021, the US sanctioned a Russian ship carrying out pipe laying work for the project.

  • An agreement was reached between the US and Germany on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Top 5 Natural Gas producing Countries 

  • United States - 914.6 billion Cubic Meters

  • Russia - 638.5 billion Cubic Meters

  • Iran - 250.8 billion Cubic Meters

  • China - 194 billion Cubic Meters

  • Qatar  171.3 billion Cubic Meters

Top 5 Countries that Consume the Most Natural Gas 

  • United States 

  • Russia 

  • China 

  • Iran 

  • Canada


  • Top 5 Countries with the Largest Natural Gas Reserves


  • Russia    

  • Iran    

  • Qatar    

  • Turkmenistan    

  • United States

By admin: Oct. 3, 2022

6. Election Commission launched Matadata Junction

Tags: National National News

The Election Commission launched Matadata Junction, a year-long voter awareness program on All India Radio on October 3.

Important facts

  • Matadata Junction was launched in a program organised at Akashvani Rang Bhawan, New Delhi.

  • Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar inaugurated the program in the presence of Election Commissioner of India Anoop Chandra Pandey, CEO Prasar Bharati Mayank Kumar Agarwal.

  • DG AIR News Vasudha Gupta and actor Pankaj Tripathi, who is an ECI state icon, were present on the occasion.

About Matadata Junction

  •  Under this, 52 episodes of 15 minutes duration will be telecast every Friday on Vividh Bharati stations, FM Rainbow, FM Gold and primary channels of All India Radio.

  • Each program will be based on a specific theme on the electoral process.

  • All 52 themes aim to encourage all eligible citizens, especially young and first-time voters.

  • Quiz, interviews with experts, and songs produced by EC's SVEEP (Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation) team will be played in every episode.

  • The program includes a Citizens' Corner where any citizen can ask questions or make suggestions on any aspect of voting.

Matadata Junction will be conducted in 23 languages

  • 23 languages are - Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili & Dogri.

Election Commission of India

  • It is a permanent and independent body established by the Constitution of India to ensure free and fair elections in India.

  • It was established as per the Constitution on 25 January 1950.

  • It administers the elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Assemblies, State Legislative Councils and the President and Vice President of the country.

  • It has nothing to do with elections to panchayats and municipalities in the states. For this the Constitution of India provides for a separate State Election Commission.

  • Basically there is only one Chief Election Commissioner in the Election Commission.

  • Currently it consists of two Election Commissioners.

  • The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

  • They have a tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years.

By admin: Oct. 3, 2022

7. Election Commission launched Matadata Junction

Tags: National National News

The Election Commission launched Matadata Junction, a year-long voter awareness program on All India Radio on October 3.

Important facts

  • Matadata Junction was launched in a program organised at Akashvani Rang Bhawan, New Delhi.

  • Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar inaugurated the program in the presence of Election Commissioner of India Anoop Chandra Pandey, CEO Prasar Bharati Mayank Kumar Agarwal.

  • DG AIR News Vasudha Gupta and actor Pankaj Tripathi, who is an ECI state icon, were present on the occasion.

About Matadata Junction

  •  Under this, 52 episodes of 15 minutes duration will be telecast every Friday on Vividh Bharati stations, FM Rainbow, FM Gold and primary channels of All India Radio.

  • Each program will be based on a specific theme on the electoral process.

  • All 52 themes aim to encourage all eligible citizens, especially young and first-time voters.

  • Quiz, interviews with experts, and songs produced by EC's SVEEP (Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation) team will be played in every episode.

  • The program includes a Citizens' Corner where any citizen can ask questions or make suggestions on any aspect of voting.

Matadata Junction will be conducted in 23 languages

  • 23 languages are - Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili & Dogri.

Election Commission of India

  • It is a permanent and independent body established by the Constitution of India to ensure free and fair elections in India.

  • It was established as per the Constitution on 25 January 1950.

  • It administers the elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Assemblies, State Legislative Councils and the President and Vice President of the country.

  • It has nothing to do with elections to panchayats and municipalities in the states. For this the Constitution of India provides for a separate State Election Commission.

  • Basically there is only one Chief Election Commissioner in the Election Commission.

  • Currently it consists of two Election Commissioners.

  • The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

  • They have a tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years.

By admin: Oct. 3, 2022

8. Government to set up 100 5G labs to boost innovation

Tags: National Economy/Finance National News

Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on 2 October that the government plans to set up 100 labs for 5G technology across India and at least 12 of them will be used to train students and conduct experiments.

Important facts

  • The minister also asked companies participating in the Indian Mobile Congress to provide their inputs for the new telecom bill, through which the government aims to simplify the licensing regime.

  • He said that the government is working significantly towards simplifying the licensing regime for all telecom companies.

  • Indigenous telecom gear maker HFCL announced the launch of 5G Lab-as-a-Service to accelerate the rollout of 5G solutions and services.

  • It will provide an automated testing environment for the private sector, academia and the government to work together on innovations.

By admin: Oct. 3, 2022

9. Government to set up 100 5G labs to boost innovation

Tags: National Economy/Finance National News

Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on 2 October that the government plans to set up 100 labs for 5G technology across India and at least 12 of them will be used to train students and conduct experiments.

Important facts

  • The minister also asked companies participating in the Indian Mobile Congress to provide their inputs for the new telecom bill, through which the government aims to simplify the licensing regime.

  • He said that the government is working significantly towards simplifying the licensing regime for all telecom companies.

  • Indigenous telecom gear maker HFCL announced the launch of 5G Lab-as-a-Service to accelerate the rollout of 5G solutions and services.

  • It will provide an automated testing environment for the private sector, academia and the government to work together on innovations.

By admin: Oct. 2, 2022

10. Union Education ministry launches PM’s Scheme for Mentoring Young Authors – YUVA 2.0

Tags: National Government Schemes

The Union Ministry of Education has launched YUVA 2.0 - Prime Minister’s Scheme for Mentoring Young Authors on 2 October 2022.  The YUVA (Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors) , is an Author Mentorship programme to train young and budding authors (below 30 years of age) in order to promote reading, writing and book culture in the country, and project India and Indian writings globally. 

The YUVA scheme  was initially  launched by the ministry on 29 May 2021.After the success of the YUVA 1.0 the ministry has launched YUVA 2.0

YUVA 2.0 is a part of India@75 Project (Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav) to bring to the fore the perspectives of the young generation of writers on the THEME : ‘Democracy (institutions, events, people, constitutional values – past, present, future)’ in an innovative and creative manner. 

The National Book Trust, India, under the Ministry of Education is the Implementing Agency of the YUVA programme.