1. Defence Ministry approves setting up of 21 new Sainik Schools for 2022-23
Tags: National
The Union Defence Ministry has approved setting up of 21 new Sainik Schools in partnership with NGOs, private schools and State Governments for the academic session 2022-23. These schools will be set up as part of the Government India’s initiative of setting up of 100 new Sainik schools across the country in partnership mode.
They will be distinct from the existing Sainik Schools.
These new Sainik Schools, besides their affiliation to respective education boards, will function under the aegis of Sainik Schools Society and will follow the Rules and Regulations for new Sainik schools in partnership mode prescribed by the Society.
The entry to the new Sainik School pattern in these schools will be at class six level only.
Sainik Schools
Sainik Schools Society (SSS) is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Defence, Govt of India.
The Society runs Sainik Schools. Sainik Schools are English medium residential schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE).
Sainik Schools prepare Cadets to join the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla (Pune), Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala,Kerala and other Training Academies for officers.
At present there are a total of 33 Sainik Schools across the country.
Sainik Schools offer admission at the level of Class VI and Class IX.
2. WHO Global centre for Traditional medicine in India
Tags: Popular National News
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has signed an agreement with the government of India to set up a WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The Agreement was signed on 25 March 2022 in Geneva by the Secretary, Ministry of Ayush Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, and Director General, WHO Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The Government of India will invest $250 million in the center .
The primary objective of GCTM is to harness the potential of traditional medicine from across the world through modern science and technology and improve overall health of the communities’ world over.
The WHO centre will be under the Ministry of AYUSH.
It is the only such centre on traditional medicine of WHO in the world.
Traditional Medicine
According to the WHO, Traditional medicine is the sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness.
AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy)
The Ministry of AYUSH was set up on the 9th of November 2014 to revive the knowledge of traditional Indian systems of medicine.
It focuses on education and research in the fields of Ayurveda, Yoga Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy.
Minister of AYUSH: Sarbananda Sonowal
World Health Organisation (WHO)
The World Health Organisation is a specialised agency of the United Nations which was founded on 7 April, 1948.
Every year 7 April is celebrated as “World Health Day”.
Headquarters of WHO : Geneva, Switzerland
Director General of WHO : Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia .
He was elected as WHO director General in 2017 and later re-elected in 2022 for a period of 5 years.
3. 4.1 million Indian brought to India under Vande Bharat Mission
Tags: National
The Government of India has informed a Parliamentary panel that under the Vande Bharat Mission a total of 4.1 million Indians were brought back to India.
The Vande Bharat Mission was launched by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India to bring back Indian’s stranded across the world due to Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The Vande Bharat mission is the largest ever civilian repatriation exercise by any country in recent history.
Highlights of the government data
Around 4.1 million Indians were brought back to India .
The government repatriated Indian citizens from more than 100 countries under the mission.
Of the total arrived passengers, 39.2 percent were workers, 39.1 percent were professionals, 5.9 per cent were students, 7.8 per cent visitors and 4.8 per cent Indian tourists stranded in foreign countries.
The maximum number of people were brought from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 2.54 million Indians were brought from the UAE.
Saudi Arabia, USA, Qatar and Oman ranked behind the UAE.
Maximum people brought to India were from Kerala( 1.41 million) followed by Delhi (1.33 million).
Both Air India and private carriers operated a total of more than 88,000 inbound flights and more than 87,600 outbound flights for the mission for which tickets had to be purchased by the passengers.
1 Million = 10 lakhs
Vande Bharat Mission
It was launched by the Government of India on 7 May 2020 to bring back Indian’s stranded in foreign countries due to covid -19 pandemic.
Initially the flights were operated by Air India, but later Private Air Lines also joined the operation.
The operations under Vande Bharat Mission were commercial operations by the airlines and air fares were paid by passengers. The Centre has not provided any subsidy or grant for the mission.
4. 48th Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC held in Islamabad
Tags: International Relations
The 48th Council of Foreign Ministers meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was held in Islamabad, Pakistan on 22 -23 March 2022. The session coincides with the 75th-anniversary celebrations of Pakistan's Independence Day.
The theme of the conference was :"Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice, and Development."
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan raised the Kashmir issue at the conference, saying the 57-member body has not been able to make any impact at all as it’s a "divided house".
China, though not a member of the OIC, was represented by its foreign minister Wang Yi who supported Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir .
India rejected the reference to Kashmir in the OIC declaration issued after the conference saying Kashmir was an integral part of India .
Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC)
The Organisation of the Islamic Conference was established by the First Islamic Summit Conference held in Rabat, Morocco, in September 1969.
It was set up to protect the interest of Muslims in the world.
Total Members : 57 countries
Headquarters : Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
India which has the third largest muslim population in the world after Indonesian and Pakistan is not the member of OIC.
5. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits India
Tags: International News
The Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi reached India on 25 March 2022, He is the most senior Chinese official to visit India after the border clash in Galwan, Ladakh which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers and 4 Chinese soldiers in June 2020. Since the Galwan clash, troops of both countries have been deployed on the Line of Actual control along the border.
Wang Yi came to India after his visit to Pakistan, Afghanistan and he will also visit Nepal from India.
India sharply criticised Wang's comment in the Organisation of Islamic States foreign ministers meeting held in Islamabad, where he supported Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir.
Wang last visited India for the Special Representative-level border talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Kumar Doval in December 2019.
The visit of Wang Yi is seen as an attempt by the Chinese leadership to ensure the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the forthcoming BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China , South Africa) summit to be held in China in 2022.
Also both countries are close to Russia and there is pressure on both the countries from western countries to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has identified three “mutuals' ' to normalise the strained ties between India and China. Three “mutuals” are mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests.
The Chinese by supporting Pakistan on Kashmir issue and its deployment of troops along the borders with India is seen by India as going against the three “mutuals” identified by S. Jaishankar.
6. Exercise Cold Response of NATO
Tags: International News
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is undertaking a large-scale military exercise in Norway code named Cold Response 2022. The military exercise is organised by Norway every two years.
About 30,000 troops from 27 countries from Europe and North America are participating in the exercise which are being held in March and April 2022.
The exercise assumed significance after the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced that he will visit Norway on 25 March 2022 to witness the exercise just after the NATO, EU, G-7 summit meeting in Brussels on 24 March 2022.
Important for Exam
NATO
It is a military alliance which was set up after the signing of the Washington Treaty on 4 April 1949 in Washington , United States of America.
It was set up to combat threats from the communist countries led by the Soviet Union in Europe. After the breakup of the Soviet Union ,Russia is considered as the successor state of the Soviet Union and Russia is seen as a threat by NATO.
Initially there were 12 member countries but at present there are 30 member countries.
Headquarters of the NATO : Brussels , Belgium
- Member : Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
7. G-7,EU,NATO holds emergency meeting on Russia Ukraine Conflict
Tags: International News
In an unprecedented move the Western countries leader held an extraordinary summit meeting in Brussels, Belgium on 24 March 2022 to put pressure on the Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
The Group of 7 or G-7 ,European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO ) was held back to back on 24 March 2022.
The three back to back summit meeting which was attended by the President of Joe Biden is an attempt by the western countries to show solidarity to Ukraine and to present a united stand against Russia.
Highlights of the meeting
NATO leaders agreed to help Ukraine protect itself against any chemical, biological or nuclear attacks by Russia.
NATO, which has already increased its troop deployment to 40,000 along the eastern border of Russia from the Baltic to the Black Sea, has agreed to set up new combat units in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.
The alliance also warned China not to support Russia’s war effort or to take any actions that will help Russia circumvent the western sanctions on Russia.
NATO turned down Ukrainian requests to defend Ukraine's skies by imposing a no-fly zone and said again, it will not send troops to Ukraine for fear of being dragged into a full-on military confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.
EU Meeting
At the European Union summit meeting ,the United States promised to supply the EU with 15 billion cubic metres more of liquefied natural gas this year than had been planned before so as to curb the European bloc's reliance on Russian gas.
Russia supplies 40% of the EU's gas needs and more than a quarter of its oil imports. Those most dependent on this supply - in particular Germany - are reluctant to take a step that would have a major economic impact.
President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also addressed the leaders via videoconference.
Russia does not want Ukraine to become a member of either the European Union or NATO. It fears if Ukraine joins these western blocs then the security of Russia will be compromised.
Important for Exam
European Union
It is a political and Economic group of 27 European countries .
The European Economic Community was launched in 1957 and it became the European Union in 1993 with the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty.
Member countries of EU : Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Headquarters of the European Union : Brussels
G-7 or Group of Seven countries
The G7 (Group of Seven) is an organisation of the world's seven largest advanced economies, which dominate global trade and the international financial system.
They are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Russia joined in 1998, creating the G8, but was excluded in 2014 for its annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine .
It has no permanent secretariat .
The 2021 summit meeting was held in England
The 2022 summit meeting will be held in Germany .
8. Danish Sidduiqi families files case against Taliban in International Criminal Court
Tags: International News
The family of the slain Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui has filed a case against the Taliban in the International Criminal Court (ICC) pleading for an investigation into the circumstances leading to his death in Afghanistan on 16 July 2021.
The family is seeking legal action against high level Taliban leaders and commanders accusing them of torturing and killing Sidduiqi becausing he was an Indian.
Danish Siddiqui was a Pulitzer prize winning journalist working for Reuters news agency in Afghanistan. He was killed when Taliban attacked the Afghan special forces with which Danish was travelling in Kandahar province’s Spin Boldak district, a town near Afghanistan Pakistan Border.
Taliban has denied that it tortured and killed Danish Siddiqui.
The International Criminal Court has been engaged in an ongoing investigation on international crimes, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, in Afghanistan, over which it has jurisdiction after Afghanistan’s government acceded to the Rome treaty 1998.
India is not a member of the International Criminal Court.
International Criminal Court(ICC)
It was set up in July 2002 under the Rome treaty of 1998.
It is the only permanent court to prosecute persons for crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and crimes of agression.
At present 123 countries are its members. The United States, China, and Israel are not its members.
The court's jurisdiction extends to offences that occurred after July 1, 2002, that were committed either in a state that has ratified the agreement or by a national of such a state or the case which was referred to it by the United Nations Security Council.
The Headquarters of ICC: The Hague, Netherlands
ICC is different from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). ICJ is a United Nations court which hears disputes involving the member states of the United Nations.
9. Over 31 lakh trees cut in India for developmental projects in 2020-21
Tags: National
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav informed the Parliament on 21 March 2021 that 30,97,721 trees were cut down for construction and development of public infrastructure projects across India in 2020-21, but not a single tree was felled in Delhi.
The Minister said that the trees were cut under the Forest (Conservation) act 1980 and over 3.6 crore seedlings were planted as part of compensatory afforestation during that year for which Rs 358.87 crore was spent by the government.
As per the data shared by the minister, the maximum number of trees were cut down in Madhya Pradesh (16,40,532), followed by Uttar Pradesh (3,11,998) and Odisha (2,23,375).
However, the maximum amount of money spent for afforestation was by Gujarat (Rs 52 crore), followed by Uttarakhand (Rs 48.2 crore) and Haryana (Rs 45 crore)
10. Vacancies in High Court
Tags: National News
According to the Government of India the total vacancies in the 25 High Courts of India was 404 against the sanctioned strength of 1104 Judges in the High Courts as on 11 March 2022.
The highest vacancy was in the Allahabad High court . It has 67 vacancies out of the total sanctioned strength of 160(120 are permanent Judges and 40 are additional Judges). It was followed by Bombay and Punjab and Haryana High Court having 36 vacancies each.
The total strength of the Bombay High Court is 94 (71 permanent Judges and 23 additional Judges) and for Punjab and Haryana High Court it is 85 (64 permanent Judges and 21 additional Judges)
Only two High Courts, Tripura and Sikkim had no vacancy. Tripura has a sanctioned strength of 5 and Sikkim High Court strength is 3 Judges.
The Judges of the High Court are appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, Governor of the state concerned and Chief Justice of the concerned High Court.
Under 217 of the Constitution High Court Judges are appointed and under article 224 of the constitution the President can appoint additional Judges in the High Court for two years.
Important For Exam
Allahabad High Court has the maximum sanctioned Judges in India. It has 160 sanctioned Judges, 120 permanent Judges and 40 additional Judges.
Total sanctioned strength of Sikkim High Court is 3 only. All 3 are permanent Judges. It has the least number of Judges in a High Court in India.
