1. Bhupendra Yadav advocates improving the conditions workers at G20 Labour minister meeting
Tags: place in news Summits International News
Union Minister of Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav attended the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers’ meeting at Bali, Indonesia. The G-20 Labour and Employment Ministers meeting was held on 13-14 September 2022.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Speaking on the occasion the minister emphasized the need to focus on improving the employment conditions of the workers for a strong and resilient economic recovery.
- Indonesia is currently the chairman of the G-20 group and it will host the G-20 summit meeting on 15-16 November 2022 at Bali, Indonesia.
- India will take over the chairmanship of G-20 from Indonesia at the Bali Summit.
- The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. It comprises 19 countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA and the European Union (EU).
2. Chinese President Xi Jinping on a first trip outside China in over two years
Tags: place in news Person in news International News
China has announced that the Chinese President Xi Jinping will be on an official visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan from Sep 14 - 16 and attend the summit meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- India will take over the SCO Presidency from Uzbekistan at the summit.
- It is for the first time that President Xi is leaving China for abroad in the last two years since the onset of covid in China.
- It is not clear whether he will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uzbekistan on September 15-16 to attend the SCO Summit.
- Samarkand Summit would be the first in-person SCO summit since 2019.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) :
- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization came into existence on June 15, 2001 after the expansion of the 'Shanghai Five'.
- The Shanghai Five was formed in 1996 by Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
- After the entry of Uzbekistan into the organization in the year 2001, 'Shanghai-5' was named SCO.
- In the year 2017, India and Pakistan got the status of its member.
- SCO has four observer states ;Iran, Mongolia, Belarus and Afghanistan
- It has six dialogue partner states; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka.
Full From :
SCO : Shanghai Cooperation Organization
3. William Ruto sworn in as Kenya's president
Tags: Person in news International News
William Ruto was sworn in as president on September 13, following the elections held on August 9 in Kenya, which has been facing political instability for the past few years.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Ruto defeated longtime Leader of the Opposition Raila Odinga by a narrow margin in the election held on 9 August.
Odinga is a very popular leader in Kenya and he has contested the presidential election 5 times and this time he has to face defeat.
Odinga was the Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013.
Ruto was the Vice President during the tenure of outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Ruto takes power in a debt-ridden country that will challenge his efforts to fulfill promises made to Kenya's poor.
About Kenya :
President - William Ruto
Capital - Nairobi
Official Languages -Swahili, English
Currency - Kenyan shilling
4. Digital Quality of Life Global Index - 2022
Tags: International News
The British Virgin Islands' based VPN service company released its Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index 2022 on 12 September which included 110 countries.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Denmark topped the index for the second year in a row while the five worst-ranked countries are Ethiopia, Cambodia, Cameroon, Guatemala and Angola.
Of the ten countries with the highest scores in the index, six are European countries.
India ranks 59th in the overall parameters of the index.
China has jumped 16 places to 22nd. Pakistan is at 97th position while Bangladesh is at 103rd position.
Five digital parameters :
Internet affordability - It measures how much time people have to spend to buy an internet connection. India has ranked 47th on this parameter.
Internet quality - The survey measures the speed and stability of mobile and broadband internet connectivity in a country. The report places India at 67th rank.
Electronic infrastructure - The survey measures the development and inclusion of electronic infrastructure in a country. India ranks 91st on this parameter.
Electronic security - This parameter assesses how prepared a country is to combat cyber crimes and protect one's online privacy. India is on the 36th spot on this parameter.
Electronic government - It seeks to gauge how modern and digitized a country's government services are by measuring the government's online presence and the use of artificial intelligence technology for the public good. India has ranked 33rd on this parameter.
5. Emmy Awards - 2022, Lee Jung-jae won the title of Best Actor
Tags: Awards International News
The 74th Emmy Awards - 2022, held in Los Angeles, USA, were announced on 13 September.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Actor Lee Jung-jae won an Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama for his performance in Netflix's hit South Korean series “Squid Game”.
"Squid Game" producer Hwang Dong-hyuk became the first Asian director to win the Drama Series category and also the first director to win for a non-English language series.
Lee took the title, beating veterans Jason Bateman (Ozark), Brian Cox (Succession), Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Adam Scott (Severance) and Jeremy (Succession).
He has also won the SAG Award for 'Squid Game' earlier this year as well.
The series revolves around a competition where 456 players, all of whom are facing a deep financial crunch.
About Emmy Award :
It annually recognizes excellence in leading television programming produced outside the US.
It is also called the American Television Award.
The Emmy Awards are created by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
The National Academy was formed in 1946 and the Emmy Award was presented for the first time in 1949.
6. India to assume G20 Presidency for one year from December 2022
Tags: International News
As per the Ministry of External Affairs India will chair the G20 meeting for one year starting from December 1, 2022 to November 20, 2023.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- A total of 200 G20 meetings are likely to be held under the chairmanship of India.
The G20 Leaders' Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 9 and 10 September 2023.
India is part of the G20 Troika :
India is currently part of the G20 Troika (current, past and upcoming G20 presidencies) which includes Indonesia, Italy and India.
During India's Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form the troika.
This will be the first time that the troika will include three developing countries and emerging economies, which will give them a boost.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
G-20 Group :
Group of 20 or G-20 is a multilateral organisation which was set up in 1999.
It consists of the world's major developed and developing countries.
It consists of 19 countries and the European Union. The member countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
Italy was the President of the G-20 in 2021. Indonesia is the President for 2022 and India will be the President in 2023.
The first Summit meeting of the leaders of the G-20 was held in 2008 at Washington, United States.
The G20 has no permanent secretariat.
G-20 members constitute 60% of the world population, 80% of the World economy and 75% of world trade.
7. Centre organizes Virtual Networking Meet for GI Products with Qatar
Tags: International News
The Centre has organized a virtual networking meeting between exporters of India and importers of Qatar to boost agri and food GI products exports in Qatar on 12 September.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- The meeting was held after India banned the export of broken rice and imposed 20% duty on certain varieties of rice except rice and basmati rice.
More than 80 participants including Exporters, Importers, Representatives of IBPS, Embassy of India and Officials of Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) participated in it.
The meeting provided a forum for dialogue between exporters and importers on India's strengths in exporting agricultural and food products of Indian origin.
The event is expected to further strengthen the confidence of importers in Indian products to facilitate exports.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
About “APEDA”:
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act passed by the Parliament in December 1985.
This authority functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Headquarters- New Delhi
Chairman- Dr. M. Angamuthu
8. India signs MoU with Gulf Cooperation Council to facilitate consultation
Tags: International Relations International News
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on 10 September signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Secretary-General of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf on the mechanism of consultations between India and the GCC.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- The External Affairs Minister is on a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia from 10-12 September 2022, his first visit to Saudi Arabia as Foreign Minister of India.
Jaishankar held bilateral meetings with the Secretary General and discussed the relevance of India-GCC cooperation in the context of the current regional and global situation.
About Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) :
It is a political and economic alliance of six Middle Eastern countries—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.
It was established in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May 1981.
Its aim is to achieve coordination, cooperation and integration and Arab regional unity among these countries.
The GCC member states have a total GDP of over USD 3.464 trillion and a total population of 54 million.
Why is GCC significant for India ?
About 7.6 million people of the Indian diaspora live in the Middle East.
According to the Reserve Bank of India report, India receives 30% of the total remittances from Middle Eastern countries. Although earlier this figure used to be 50 percent.
The decline in remittances may be due to the Covid-19 pandemic which forced workers to come to India.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
India’s trade and energy interests :
India's third largest trading partner (USD 72.9 billion) in the year 2021-22 was the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia was India's fourth largest trading partner in the last financial year.
From Qatar, India imports 8.5 million tonnes of LNG annually and exports products ranging from cereals to meat, fish, chemicals and plastics.
Two-way commerce between India and Qatar increased to US$ 15 billion in 2021-22 from US$ 9.21 billion in 2020-21.
Oman and Bahrain have also been a prosperous bilateral trade partner with India.
9. India joins 3 pillars of the US led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)
Tags: Economy/Finance International News
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India has decided not to join the trade pillar of the United States-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) for now but has agreed to join the other three pillars: supply chains, tax and anti-corruption and clean energy.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- This was declared by the Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goel at the end of the trade ministers first in person meeting of the IPEF, held in Los Angeles, United States on 9 September 2022.
Why India has not joined the Trade pillar :
- The Minister said that the trade pillar which deals with trade requires commitment of the member countries on environment, labour, digital trade, and public procurement.
- He said that India is not certain what benefit it will get by joining this trade pillar.
- He expressed the fear that the trade pillar may set high standards of compliance which may discriminate against the developing countries.
- Giving an example he said that the United State has set a high standard on environment protection which is applicable on the energy companies. It has set stringent norms for power plants so that they are low polluting and more environment friendly. This mandates investment in new technology which makes the power produced costly.
- If India follows the US standards then it will adversely impact India’s economic development. India needs cheap power so that it is accessible to all. It cannot afford costly powers.
- Similar concerns are also there in the field of labour, digital trade, and public procurement.
10. King Charles III, Britain's new monarch
Tags: Person in news International News
Charles Philip Arthur George, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II was proclaimed as the King of the United Kingdom in a ceremony at the St James's Palace, London on 10 September 2022. Before becoming the King he was known as the Prince of Wales.
The new monarch of the United Kingdom is proclaimed at St James's Palace in London, in front of a ceremonial body known as the Accession Council.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Head of the Commonwealth :
- King Charles is now officially the Head of the Commonwealth .Commonwealth is an association of 56 Independent countries .
- He is also now the Head of State of 14 countries namely; Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
- Prince Charles has now become Britain's monarch, and his son William has been made Prince of Wales and William's wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales.
Charles said he was given the position by his mother, Queen Elizabeth, in 1958 when he was just nine years old.
Formerly Prince of Wales, Charles is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. He was born in 1948.
Charles married Lady Diana Spencer on 29 July 1981, they have two sons, William and Harry.
Princess of Wales Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997, later Charles married Camilla Parker on 9 April 2005.
Charles will be succeeded by his eldest son, Prince William.
