National
8th edition of Swachh Survekshan (SS) – SS 2023
⇒ The Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Shri Manoj Joshi has launched the eighth edition of Swachh Survekshan (SS) – SS 2023 under Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0, on 25 May 2022.
Theme:
» Designed with the theme of ‘Waste to Wealth’ as its driving philosophy, SS 2023 is curated towards achieving circularity in waste management.
- The survey would give priority to the principle of 3Rs – Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.
- The theme of SS 2023, is aligned to SBMU 2.0’s commitment of promoting circularity in waste management, which is one of key objectives under the Mission.
Key Points:
- In SS 2023, the evaluation will be conducted in 4 phases, instead of 3 phases in earlier editions and citizen validation and field assessment of processing facilities is being introduced in the phase 3 also, in addition to phase 4.
- In SS 2023, additional weightage has been given to source segregation of waste, enhancement of waste processing capacity of cities to match the waste generation and reduction of waste going to the dumpsites.
- Indicators have been introduced with additional weightage on emphasizing the need for phased reduction of plastic, plastic waste processing, encourage waste to wonder parks and zero waste events.
Background:
- The Prime Minister launched the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0 on 1st October 2021.
- Swachh Survekshan was introduced by MoHUA in 2016 as a competitive framework to encourage cities to improve the status of urban sanitation while encouraging large scale citizen participation.
- The journey that started in 2016 with only 73 cities with million plus population has grown manifold, with 434 cities in 2017, 4,203 cities in 2018, 4,237 cities in 2019, 4,242 cities in SS 2020, 4,320 cities in SS 2021, and 4,355 cities in SS 2022, including 62 Cantonment Boards.
Brainstorming session on Mission Digital India BHASHINI
⇒ The Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) organized brainstorming session on Mission Digital India BHASHINI – [BHASHa INterface for India] – the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM).
- MeitY held Brainstorming with Researchers & Startups to shape strategy for Digital India BHASHINI – India’s AI led language translation platform.
During the brainstorming session, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, while speaking to 73 Startups in the field of Artificial Intelligence and language technology said- we see the role of Startups in the Innovation, Development as well as Consumption of Technology.
Key Points:
- A Bhashini Platform will make Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources available to MSMEs, Startups and Individual Innovators in the public domain.
- This mission aims to empower Indian citizens by connecting them to the Digital Initiatives of the country in their own language thereby leading to digital inclusion.
- The Bhashini platform is interoperable and will catalyze the entire Digital Ecosystem. It is a giant step to realize the goal of Digital Government.
- Mission Digital India Bhashini also aims to increase the content in Indian languages on the Internet substantially in the domains of public interest, particularly, governance-and-policy, science & technology, etc.; thus, will encourage citizens to use the Internet in their own language.
International
Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying visits Brazil
⇒ Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying visited Brazil from 16th to 20th May 2022 on invitation of Agriculture Minister of Brazil.
He led a delegation composed of experts from animal husbandry and dairying sector and representatives of the private sector.
Discussion:
Shri Rupala held very fruitful discussions with his Brazilian counterpart Mr. Marcos Montes Cordeiro, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply and both Ministers agreed to further strengthen the mutually beneficial ties.
Shri Rupala held meetings with Presidents of the Brazilian Association of Zebu Breeders, Mayor of Uberaba, Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock, and Brazilian Cooperatives Organization and discussed ways to increase cooperation in the dairy sector through R&D, genetic improvement, and trade & investment.
Key Points:
- In Brasilia, the Minister participated in the curtain-raiser event for celebrations of the International Day of Yoga 2022 in Brazil and interacted with a large number of Brazilian Yoga teachers.
- To promote Ayurveda, the Minister launched an Ayurveda comic book “Professor Ayushman”, translated by the Embassy of India in partnership with Brazilian Ayurveda expert Dr. Jose Ruguê.
- The Minister inaugurated the space exhibition on 20th May 2022. As part of the 75 years of Independence of India, the Embassy organized a space exhibition at the Brazilian Planetarium from 21 May to 10 June 2022 to showcase the advances by the Indian Space Agency ISRO.
11th meeting of India-UAE Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC)
⇒ The 11th meeting of India-UAE Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) was held on 24 May 2022 in New Delhi.
Co-chaired by:
The JDCC meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary (Armed Forces) Shri Dinesh Kumar and Chief of the Force Development Authority at Ministry of Defence, UAE.
Discussion:
During the meeting, the two sides decided to identify new avenues and examine areas of mutual interest for Joint Venture in order to enhance defence industry cooperation. Enhancing the scope and complexities of the existing joint exercises was also discussed.
- It was agreed to hold the next meeting of JDCC in UAE on mutually convenient dates in 2023.
» Chief of the Force Development Authority at Ministry of Defence, United Arab Emirates Major General Staff Hassan Mohamed Sultan Bani Hammad called on Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar in New Delhi on May 25, 2022.
- They discussed ways to enhance defence cooperation between the two countries. The General also briefed the Defence Secretary about the JDCC meeting.
About JDCC:
The JDCC is the apex body between the Defence Ministries of India and UAE to comprehensively review & guide all aspects of bilateral defence cooperation.
Important Day
International Day of Yoga 2022
⇒ International Day of Yoga is celebrated worldwide on 21st June every year.
The International Day of Yoga aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga.
Theme:
The theme for International Day of Yoga 2022 was “Yoga for Humanity”.
Key Points:
» The Ministry of Ayush, Govt of India has chosen this theme for 8th International Day of Yoga 2022 organized in India and across the globe.
- This year International Day of Yoga witnessed many firsts, including a “Guardian Ring” program which entailed live streaming of people performing yoga in 16 different time zones along with the rise of the sun.
- IDY also focused on ‘Brand India at Global Stage’ while showcasing its iconic places. ‘Ram ki Paidi’, Ayodhya was selected as one of the 75 Iconic Sites for nationwide observation of 8th edition of IDY.
Background:
- On December 11 in 2014, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21st as the International Day of Yoga by resolution 69/131.
- In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first International Day of Yoga on June 21, 2015.
- The event also registered two Guinness World Records, one for 35,985 people practicing in a single yoga session at a single venue and the other for most nationalities participating in a yoga lesson.