1. India elected as Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-24
Tags: International News
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India has been unanimously elected as the new Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-2024 at the recently held meeting of the Executive board and General Assembly at Manila, Philippines.
The Election Commission, Manila was the current chairman of the AAEA.
The new members in the Executive Board now include Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Taiwan and Philippines.
The Election Commission of India's three-member delegation headed by deputy election commissioner Nitesh Vyas, along with CEO Manipur Rajesh Agrawal and CEO Rajasthan Praveen Gupta, attended the executive board meeting in Manila.
62 officials from 12 AAEA members participated in the 3rd International Virtual Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) hosted by ECI during Assembly Elections in 2022.
About AAEA
The AAEA provides a non-partisan forum in the Asian region for sharing experiences and best practices among election authorities.
It discusses and acts upon ways to promote open and transparent elections.
The objective to do so is to support good governance and democracy.
AAEA is also an Associate Member of the 118 member Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).
It was established in pursuance of the resolution passed by participants of the Symposium on Asian Elections in the Twenty First Century held from January 26-29, 1997 in Manila, Philippines.
It was established in 1998.
Currently 20 Asian EMBs are members of AAEA.
2. State of the World’s Birds Report
Tags: International News
According to the State of the World's Birds report, populations of 48% of all bird species are declining globally, mainly due to man-made factors such as loss or degradation of habitats, changes in land use, overexploitation and climate change.
The report is published by Manchester Metropolitan University.
It is a study of changes in the biodiversity of birds and describes the risk to birds around the world.
The study draws from BirdLife International’s latest assessment of all birds for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
Key findings of the study
The study found that 5,245 of the extant bird species worldwide, or about 48%, are in decline or are suspected to be in decline.
4,295 or 39% of the species have stable trends.
About 7% or 778 species have increasing population trends.
The study indicates that 1,481 or 13.5% of species are currently threatened with extinction globally.
More threatened bird species (86.4%) have been found in tropical regions than in temperate latitudes (31.7%).
The main hotspots are tropical Andes, southeast Brazil, eastern Himalayas, eastern Madagascar, and Southeast Asian islands.
3. Central government will reconsider giving minority status to Hindus in some states
Tags: National News
The Centre informed the Supreme Court that the power to notify minorities is vested with the Union government and any decision in this regard will be taken after discussion with states and other stakeholders.
The petition, filed in the Supreme Court, had sought a direction to frame guidelines for identification of minorities at the state level.
The petition said that Hindus are a minority in 10 states.
Population of Hindus in 9 states
1% in Ladakh
2.75% in Mizoram
2.77% in Lakshadweep
4% in Jammu & Kashmir
8.74% in Nagaland
11.52% in Meghalaya
29% in Arunachal Pradesh
38.49% in Punjab
41.29% in Manipur.
Who are the Minorities?
Minorities are not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the Constitution.
Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jain and Zoroastrians (Parsis) have been notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
According to the 2011 census, the percentage of minorities in the country is about 19.3% of the total population of the country.
The population of Muslims are 14.2%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7%, Jain 0.4% and Parsis 0.006%.
Article 29 of the constitution deals with the “protection of interest of minorities”.
The constitution recognizes religious minorities in India and linguistic minorities in India through Article 29 and Article 30.
4. National Technology Day
Tags: National Important Days
National Technology Day is observed every year on 11 May to honour the contributions of India's scientific community including scientists, researchers and engineers.
Significance of the day
It reminds people of the scientific achievements of the country.
It is a day to honour all those who have contributed to the advancement of science.
It honours the hard work and efforts of all those who have contributed to the technological progress of our country.
Theme of the year 2022 - An Integrated Approach to Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future.
The theme was launched by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.
History of the day
National Technology Day was first officially celebrated on 11 May 1999.
The primary goal of this day was to recognize scientific and technological achievements.
On May 11, 1998, India successfully carried out nuclear tests at the army’s Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.
In doing so, India became the sixth country to join the 'nuclear club'.
The test was led by the late APJ Abdul Kalam, an aerospace scientist who became the eleventh President of India.
On the same day in 1998, India test-fired its first indigenous aircraft Hansa-3 which took off in Bengaluru.
On that day, the surface-to-air missile Trishul was also successfully test fired.
With many technological advancements in a single day, the Government of India announced the celebration of May 11 as National Technology Day.
It was officially signed by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Since then, the Technology Development Board (TDB) which is a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology at the Centre is celebrating this day.
5. India, Madagascar sign MoU to explore co-production of TV programmes
Tags: National News
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation and collaboration in Broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and ORTM (Office de la Radio et de la Television) was signed in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo on 10 May.
The MoU was signed by India’s Ambassador to Madagascar Abhay Kumar and ORTM Director-General BELALAHY Jean Yves.
Under the agreement, Madagascar National Television will broadcast programmes from internal productions by India's Prasar Bharati.
The objective of the MoU is to explore the exchange of programmes, co-production of programs and training/exchange of personnel.
About Madagascar
It is an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa.
It is the fourth largest island in the world after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo.
Madagascar shares maritime borders with Comoros, France, Mauritius, Mozambique and Seychelles.
Prime Minister : Christian Ntsay
Capital : Antananarivo
President : Andry Rajoelina
6. Govt to establish 33 new domestic cargo terminals by 2024-2025
Tags: National News
The government will set up 33 new domestic cargo terminals by 2024-2025, which will contribute significantly to the growth of India's cargo sector.
Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia on 11 May attended the annual event of Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) as the chief guest.
He said that this can be achieved by acquisition of smaller size aircraft.
The theme of the annual event was “10 Million: Vision 2030; Stimulating, Scaling, Steering Air Cargo”.
Cargo sector in India
During the last 2 years in the post-Covid era, the cargo sector has emerged as a promising sector not only for Indian aviation but also for global aviation.
The Indian cargo sector has witnessed a growth rate of 9-10 per cent since 2013-14.
During the last 2 years, the airlines have registered a growth of 520% in cargo revenue.
At present, Indian Cargo revenue stands at INR 2,000 crore with 3.1 million metric tonnage having a CAGR of 13%.
Currently, India has 21 international and 35 domestic cargo terminals.
About Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI)
It was established on 14th September 2012.
It is an association of various stakeholders of Air Cargo Logistic Supply Chain Trade and Industry i.e. Freight Forwarders, Airlines, Airport Operators, Cargo Terminal Operators, Customs House Agents and Express Industry.
7. PM condoles demise of noted Santoor maestro, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma
Tags: National Person in news
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed deep grief over the demise of noted Santoor maestro, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma.
He died on 10 May at the age of 84.
The renowned musician, who breathed his last in Mumbai, had been suffering from kidney-related issues for the past six months and was on dialysis.
The Jammu-born musician, also a Padma Vibhushan recipient, is believed to be the first musician to have played Indian classical music on the santoor.
He began learning santoor at the age of thirteen.
He was instrumental in popularising the santoor and taking it to a global scale with his style.
His first ever performance was in Mumbai in 1995.
He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1986, the Padma Shri in 1991 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
8. Home Minister Amit Shah confers President's Colours Award to Assam Police in Guwahati
Tags: National News
Home Minister Amit Shah presented the President's Color Award to Assam Police in Guwahati and said that terrorism is almost over and talks are on for peace.
Assam is the 10th state in the country to receive this honour which is given in recognition of exceptional services.
About President's Colours Award
The President's colour Award is one of the "greatest honours" given to a military unit in recognition of exceptional service rendered to the nation during both war and peace.
It is also known as ′Nishan′.
It is an emblem worn by all officers of the unit on the left hand sleeve of their uniform.
Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Gujarat and Tripura are the other states that have received this award.
Delhi is the only Union Territory to receive this prestigious award.
About Assam
Assam is known for Assam tea and Assam silk.
The first site for oil drilling in Asia.
The state shares its borders with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, and West Bengal.
The state shares international borders with Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan.
Chief Minister - Himanta Biswa Sarma is the 15th Chief Minister
Governor - Prof Jagdish Mukhi is the 30th Governor
9. Narayan Rane to inaugurate the first Centre of Excellence for Khadi (CoEK) in New Delhi
Tags: National News
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Union Minister for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane will inaugurate the first Centre of Excellence for Khadi on 11th May 2022 in New Delhi.
The Khadi Center of Excellence has been established at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Delhi, and has sub-branches at Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, Kolkata and Shillong.
Its purpose is to design clothes, make curtains for homes etc. and develop accessories for people of all age groups.
It also aims to follow all the processes under global standards in terms of quality, design and trade.
Knowledge Portal for Khadi
The Khadi Centre of Excellence is in the process of developing a knowledge portal for Khadi to guide all the Khadi institutions for designing.
The knowledge portal will guide the design, which includes colour, outline, layer, weave, print, shape, warp etc.
10. Priyanka Mohite becomes first Indian woman to scale five peaks above 8,000 m
Tags: National Person in news
Priyanka Mohite, a resident of Satara in western Maharashtra, on May 05, 2022, became the first Indian woman to scale five peaks above 8,000 metres after climbing Mount Kanchenjunga.
Priyanka successfully completed her expedition to the world's third highest peak Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) on May 05 at 4.52 pm.
Priyanka Mohite is the youngest mountaineer from Maharashtra and the third shortest in the country to scale the world's highest mountain peak Mount Everest (8,848 m).
He scaled Africa's highest mountain peak Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m), located in Tanzania, in 2016.
In the year 2018, Priyanka successfully climbed Mount Lhotse (8,516 metres).
In the year 2019, she became the first female mountaineer from India to scale Mount Makalu (8,485 m), the fifth highest peak in the world.
Priyanka had completed the fourth phase of the campaign to reach five mountain peaks higher than eight thousand in April 2021 by stepping on Mount Annapurna (8,091 m), the world's tenth highest peak.
Priyanka Mohite was awarded the Tenzing Norgay Adventure Award in the year 2020.
