National
Chief Minister of Karnataka
⇒ Shri Siddaramaiah was sworn in as the 22nd Chief Minister of Karnataka on 20 May 2023, while State Congress President DK Shivakumar was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister.
- Siddaramaiah had previously been the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 2013 to 2018.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Chief Minister and his cabinet at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
Apart from Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, eight other MLAs took oath as ministers: G Parameshwara, K H Muniyappa, K J George, M B Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Priyank Kharge (Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge’s son), Ramalinga Reddy, and B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan.
Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management at Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education in Dehradun
⇒ Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Labour and Employment Shri Bhupendra Yadav formally inaugurated Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management (CoE-SLM) on 20th May, 2023 at ICFRE, Dehradun.
- Shri Yadav also released two publications “Technical Paper on Pathway to achieve LDN in India” and “Compendium of Sustainable Land Management Practices” on this occasion.
The Prime Minister of India during the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP-14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on 9th September 2019, announced the establishment of Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management (CoE-SLM) at the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education. CoE-SLM aims to promote South-South Cooperation and address land degradation issues through sustainable land management practices.
About CoE-SLM:
- The CoE-SLM is poised to make a lasting impact in addressing land degradation issues, by leveraging sustainable land management practices, fostering cooperation among developing countries, and achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), this initiative aligns with the vision of the Indian government to promote environmental conservation and combat climate change.
- The CoE-SLM, established at the ICFRE, aims to facilitate the restoration of degraded land through technical support, capacity building, and knowledge sharing at the national and sub-national levels.
- By collaborating with developing countries that are party to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the CoE-SLM seeks to achieve LDN targets, promote south-south cooperation, and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by various international conventions, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
- The CoE-SLM has set forth specific objectives to guide its actions. These include assessing land degradation, capacity building on sustainable land management frameworks aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and strengthening the assessment, monitoring, and reporting of land-based indicators outlined by the UNCCD.
- The centre also aims to set LDN targets, develop drought risk and early warning systems, mainstream gender considerations, promote good governance of land tenure and rights, and assess the impacts of land degradation on greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss.
International
Prime Minister unveils Mahatma Gandhi Bust in Hiroshima
⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled the bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima, Japan on 20 May 2023.
The Mahatma Gandhi bust has been gifted by the Government of India to the city of Hiroshima as a symbol of friendship and goodwill between India and Japan, on the occasion of the visit of the Prime Minister for the G-7 summit. The G-7 summit was held in Hiroshima on 19–21 May 2023.
Key Points:
- The 42 inches tall bronze bust has been sculpted by Padma Bhushan awardee Shri Ram Vanji Sutar.
- The bust site, adjacent to the Motoyasu River, is close to iconic A-Bomb Dome that is visited by thousands of people – locals and tourists alike – every day.
- The location has been chosen as a mark of solidarity for peace and non-violence. Mahatma Gandhi dedicated his life to peace and non-violence.
Quad Leaders’ Summit 2023
⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in the third in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima, Japan on 20 May 2023, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and President Joseph Biden of the United States of America.
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was in Japan for the G-7 Summit from 19-21 May 2023.
- The Leaders had a productive dialogue about developments in the Indo-Pacific which affirmed their shared democratic values and strategic interests.
- Guided by their vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, they reiterated the importance of upholding the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful resolution of disputes.
- In this context, they released the Quad Leaders’ Vision Statement – Enduring Partners for the Indo-Pacific” which articulates their principled approach.
To strengthen the resilience and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific the Leaders announced following initiatives which would complement the development priorities of the region:
- Clean Energy Supply Chains Initiative which would facilitate research and development and support the Indo-Pacific’s energy transition. In addition, the Quad Principles of Clean Energy Supply Chains were approved to guide engagement with the region on clean energy supply chain development.
- ‘Quad Infrastructure Fellowships Programme’ to support policy makers and practitioners in the region to design, build and manage sustainable and viable infrastructure in their countries.
- ‘Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience’ to leverage Quad’s collective expertise in design, manufacturing, laying and maintenance of undersea cables to secure and diversify these critical networks.
- Quad support for a small-scale ORAN deployment in Palau, the first in the Pacific region. They also released the ORAN Security Report to support industry investment in open, interoperable and secure telecom platforms.
- Quad Investors’ Network has been launched as a private sector led platform to facilitate investments in strategic technologies.
- The Leaders welcomed progress of the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness, announced at their Summit last year in Tokyo. They noted that data sharing with partners in South East and the Pacific under this programme is underway and would soon include partners in the Indian Ocean Region. Prime Minister highlighted how India’s approach to demand-driven development cooperation with the region was contributing to these efforts.
» The Leaders agreed on the need to preserve the integrity of the UN, its Charter and its agencies. They agreed on continuing their efforts to strengthen and reform the multilateral system, including through an expansion of the UNSC membership in both permanent and non-permanent categories.
» Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi invited Quad Leaders to India for the next Quad Summit in 2024.
About Quad:
- The Quad is a diplomatic partnership of four countries committed to promoting stability, resilience and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.
- Australia, India, Japan and the United States share a vision for a region that is governed by accepted rules and norms, where all countries can cooperate, trade and thrive.
Important Day
World Bee Day 2023
⇒ The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India celebrated World Bee Day on 20th May, 2023 at Raja Bhoj Agriculture College, Waraseoni Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh.
» World Bee Day is celebrated every year on 20 May to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development.
Theme:
The theme of World Bee Day 2023 is “Bee engaged in pollinator-friendly agricultural production”.
- Under the theme, World Bee Day 2023 calls for global action to support pollinator-friendly agricultural production and highlights the importance of protecting bees and other pollinators, particularly through evidence-based agricultural production practices.
- Bees and other pollinators are fundamental for the health of ecosystems and food security. They help maintain biodiversity and ensure the production of nutritious food.
History:
- In 2016, at the FAO Regional Conference for Europe, the Republic of Slovenia proposed World Bee Day to be celebrated on 20 May each year, with the support of Apimondia, the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Association.
- The date for this observance was chosen as it was the day Anton Janša, a pioneer of modern apiculture, was born. Janša came from a family of beekeepers in Slovenia, where beekeeping is an important agricultural activity with a long-standing tradition.
- The proposal for World Bee Day was submitted for consideration at the 40th Session of FAO Conference in 2017.
- The United Nations General Assembly unanimously proclaimed 20 May as World Bee Day in 2017. World Bee Day was proclaimed by resolution A/RES/72/211 adopted in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 20, 2017.
- World Bee Day was first celebrated on 20 May 2018.