1. Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurates AMRIPTEX 2023
Tags: National News
The Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated AMRITPEX 2023 - National Philatelic Exhibition on 11 February in New Delhi.
An overview of the news
This five day Mahakumbh of Stamps (11th to 15th February, 2023) in Hall 5, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, is being organized as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Celebrations.
The themes of the exhibition include Amrit Mahotsav of Independence and New India, women power, youth power, nature and wildlife, and culture and history of India.
The Minister of State for Communications, Devusinh Chauhan, Secretary, Department of Posts, Vineet Pandey, Director General Postal Services, Alok Sharma were present on the occasion.
Commemorative Postage Stamp
The Department of Posts also released a commemorative postage stamp on the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence.
This stamp has been prepared from the best entries of the National Comprehensive Design Competition in which more than 4 lakh students participated.
The competition was organised on an all India basis in collaboration with the Department of School Education and Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
India Post
India Post is the central postal system of India and was established on 1 April 1854.
It works under the Ministry of Communications, Government of India.
India's postal system is one of the most widely distributed networks in the world.
India is divided into 23 postal circles headed by the Chief Postmaster.
Postal Index Number is a 6 digit code of post office introduced on 15 August 1972.
The Department of Posts has transformed into a digital network for banking, service delivery and social security payment network.
India Post has become vital to the common people in the fields of services, banking and insurance through a dense network of 1.5 lakh postal branches across the country, especially for rural India.
It is quite popular in rural India as it is one of the oldest institutes in India in terms of better service.
2. President Draupadi Murmu appoints new governors in 13 states
Tags: National National News
President Droupadi Murmu appointed 13 new Governors while accepting the resignations of Bhagat Singh Koshyari as Governor of Maharashtra and of Radha Krishnan Mathur as Lt. Governor of Ladakh on 12 February.
The fresh appointments
Lt. General Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik, (Retired) Governor of Arunachal Pradesh
Lakshman Prasad Acharya, Governor of Sikkim
C P Radhakrishnan, Governor of Jharkhand
Shiv Pratap Shukla, Governor of Himachal Pradesh
S. Abdul Nazeer, Governor of Andhra Pradesh
Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Assam
Change of states of some current governors
Justice (Retd) Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh appointed as Governor of Chhattisgarh.
Anusuiya Uikye, Governor of Chhattisgarh appointed as Governor of Manipur.
La. Ganesan, Governor of Manipur appointed as Governor of Nagaland.
Phagu Chauhan, Governor of Bihar appointed as Governor of Meghalaya.
Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Governor of Himachal Pradesh appointed as Governor of Bihar.
Ramesh Bais, Governor of Jharkhand appointed as Governor of Maharashtra.
Brig (Dr) B D Mishra (Retd), Governor of Arunachal Pradesh appointed as Lt. Governor of Ladakh.
How are Governors appointed?
Article 153 of the Constitution says “There shall be a Governor for each State.”
According to Article 155 "the Governor of a State shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal".
Under Article 156, "the Governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the President", but his term shall be five years.
Articles 157 and 158 lay down the qualifications and terms of office of the Governor.
The Governor must be a citizen of India and must have completed 35 years of age.
The Governor should not be a member of Parliament or State Legislature, and should not hold any other office of profit.
The position of Governor is envisaged as a political head who has to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers of the State.
Related Constitutional Articles
Article 153- Governors of states
Article 154- Executive power of state
Article 155- Appointment of Governor
Article 156- Term of office of Governor
Article 157- Qualifications for appointment as Governor
Article 158- Conditions of Governor’s office
Article 159- Oath or affirmation by the Governor
Article 160- Discharge of the functions of the Governor in certain contingencies
Article 161- Power of the Governor to grant pardons and others
Article 162- Extent of executive power of state
Article 163- Council of ministers to aid and advise the Governor
3. Moldov's PM Natalia Gavrilita resigns
Tags: Person in news International News
Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita announced her resignation on 10 February.
An overview of the news
She resigned, citing lack of support in the former Soviet republic. She was in power only for 18 months.
Moldova's President Maia Sandu has accepted Gavrilita's resignation and said she will speak to parliamentary groups about a possible replacement.
Ms. Gavrilita's party won a majority in the elections held in August 2021.
The next prime minister of Moldova could be Dorin Risen, a European security adviser who is a supporter of Sandu.
Rieken is expected to be approved as the country's prime minister without interference.
Moldova, a former Soviet republic with a population of 2.5 million people, is already facing a host of issues such as rising inflation, a massive influx of refugees from Ukraine and a severe energy crisis in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Moscow significantly reduced its electricity supply to Moldova.
Last year alone, the country saw protests against a dramatic increase in prices, particularly for Russian gas.
About Moldova
Moldova is located between Ukraine and Romania.
Capital: Chișinău
President: Maia Sandu
Official Language : Romanian
Currency : Moldovan leu
4. 12th World Hindi Conference to be held in Fiji
Tags: Summits International News
The three-day 12th World Hindi Conference will be held in Fiji from February 15.
An overview of the news
The conference is being organised by the Ministry of External Affairs of India in collaboration with the Government of Fiji.
The main theme of the conference is "Hindi - Traditional Knowledge to Artificial Intelligence'.
The Conference will be inaugurated by Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka along with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.
Apart from one plenary session based on the main theme, 10 parallel sessions will be held.
Representatives of 50 countries are likely to participate in the World Hindi Conference.
The event will be used to promote Hindi as a global language.
World Hindi Conference
The first World Hindi Conference was held in Nagpur in 1975 to popularise Hindi as a global language. At that time Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India.
11th World Hindi Conference was held at Port Louis, Mauritius between 18-20 August' 2018.
Hindi Diwas
Every year 14 September is observed as Hindi Diwas in India.
On this day in 1949 the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi as the official language of the country.
Republic of Fiji
It is an archipelago consisting of around 300 islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
Capital: Suva
Currency: Fijian Dollar
Prime Minister: Sitiveni Rabuka
5. US introduces bill to promote peaceful resolution of conflict between China and Dalai Lama
Tags: International News
US lawmakers have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives and the Senate that outlines US policy for open dialogue between China and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
An overview of the news:
The Bill calls for the independence of the Tibetan people and the peaceful resolution of their differences regarding Tibet.
Congressman Jim McGovern and Michael McCaul introduced a bill promoting the Tibet–China Conflict Legislation in the House of Representatives, while it was introduced in the Senate by Senators Jeff Merkley and Todd Young.
In this bill, emphasis has been laid on peaceful settlement of differences through dialogue.
6. India's first drone-air traffic management system
Tags: National News
The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari unveiled the country's first drone-air traffic management system "Sky UTM".
An overview of the news:
What is Sky UTM?
It is developed by "Sky Air".
Sky UTM is a cloud-based air traffic management system that integrates unmanned air traffic with manned aviation airspace.
The system is capable of handling 4,000 flights per hour and 96,000 flights per day.
Sky UTM is designed to provide situational awareness, autonomous navigation, risk assessment and traffic management to all drone/other aerial moving operators in the airspace.
How does it work?
Sky UTM captures over 255 parameters of UAV movement and stores them in its 'Blackbox' which is a published systematic description of the entire flight.
Sky UTM has operated over 300 successful BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) drone flights to date.
7. Third ASEAN Digital Ministers meeting approves India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023
Tags: National National News
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India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023 was approved at the third ASEAN Digital Ministers meeting in New Delhi February 10.
An overview of the news
The Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan, and Ivan John E Uy, Secretary, Department of Information and Communication Technology, Philippines co-chaired the meeting.
The meeting was held on a virtual platform with the theme of "Synergy Towards a Sustainable Digital Future" to strengthen India-ASEAN ties in the field of Information and Communication Technology.
The action plan includes capacity building and knowledge sharing in emerging areas of information and communication technology such as artificial intelligence in cyber security.
In 2022, the ASEAN India Friendship Year was celebrated, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations with ASEAN.
It furthers the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in ASEAN and India.
India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023
The India-ASEAN Digital Action Plan 2023 was approved in the ministers' meeting.
The action plan includes-
Capacity building and knowledge sharing in emerging areas of information and communication technology such as artificial intelligence in cyber security.
Application of IoT and AI in Next Generation Smart City and Society 5.0.
Sustainable data and transport networks for the future: standards and applications.
5G technologies for IoT and future trends,
Role of ICT in implementation of digital health and safety and assessment for future networks, etc.
8. 11th India-Mongolia Joint Working Group Meeting Held in New Delhi
Tags: International Relations International News
The 11th meeting of the India-Mongolia Joint Working Group was held on 10 February 2023 in New Delhi.
An overview of the news
Co-chaired by Dr. Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence, India and Brigadier General Gankhuyag Davgdorj, State Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Mongolia, the meeting of the Joint Working Group took place for the first time since the pandemic.
Both the countries reviewed the progress of various bilateral defense cooperation initiatives and identified measures to further enhance the existing areas of cooperation.
Both sides reviewed the progress of various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives and expressed satisfaction at the efforts made in this direction despite the restrictions imposed by the COVID pandemic.
India -Mongolia Relation
India established diplomatic relations with Mongolia in 1955 and upgraded relations with Mongolia to a strategic partnership.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mongolia in 2015 upgraded it to a "strategic partnership" and declared it as an essential component of the 'Act East Policy'.
Mongolia has publicly voiced its support for India's membership for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Both the countries are members of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Mongolia
It is located in North Central Asia.
Capital: Ulaanbaatar
Currency: Tugrik
President: Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh
9. Two-day inception meeting of G-20 EMPOWER group of Ministry of Women & Child Development begins in Agra
Tags: Summits National News
The two-day establishment meeting of the G-20 EMPOWER Group of the Ministry of Women and Child Development began in Agra from 11 February.
An overview of the news
The theme of the meeting : Empowering Women to Lead across Sectors: Role of Digital Skilling and Future Skills.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development is the nodal ministry of India for G20 EMPOWER.
Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Limited, is the chairperson of EMPOWER 2023 during India's G20 Presidency.
Under India's G20 presidency, EMPOWER will host three meetings in February, April and June 2023 in Agra, Thiruvananthapuram and Bhopal respectively.
An exhibition will also be organized during the event to showcase the work of women-led micro-enterprises, women artisans and craftsmen from different states.
Women leaders from G-20 countries, guest countries, international organisations and the private sector have been invited to the founding meeting.
India's G20 Presidency is inclusive, equitable, ambitious, decisive and action-oriented for the economic empowerment of women.
About G20 EMPOWER
The G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women’s Economic Representation (EMPOWER) is an alliance of G20 business leaders and governments.
It aims to accelerate women’s leadership and empowerment in the private sector.
The G20 Empower 2023 under India's chairmanship is prioritising the shift from women's development to women-led development.
10. Govt appoints two new Supreme Court judges
Tags: Person in news National News
The Central Government has approved Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Arvind Kumar as judges of the Supreme Court.
An overview of the news
Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Rajesh Bindal and Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court Arvind Kumar have been made judges of the Supreme Court.
The total number of judges in the Supreme Court has gone up to 34, which is also the sanctioned number of 34 judges.
On January 31, the six-member collegium of the Supreme Court sent the names of these two judges to the government for approval.
Earlier on December 13, 2022, the names of five judges were recommended. These five judges were sworn in as judges of the Supreme Court on 6 February.
These include the names of Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal, Patna High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Karol, Manipur High Court Chief Justice PV Sanjay Kumar, Patna High Court Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Allahabad High Court Justice Manoj Mishra.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has to finalise 19 judicial appointments in his tenure till November 2024.
