National
Budget Session of Parliament, 2022
⇒ The Budget Session, 2022 of Parliament, which commenced on, 31 January 2022, has been adjourned sine die i.e. on 07 April 2022.
During this Session a total of 13 Bills (12 in Lok Sabha and 01 in Rajya Sabha) were introduced. 13 Bills were passed by Lok Sabha and 11 Bills were passed by Rajya Sabha. A total of 11 Bills were passed by both the Houses of Parliament.
Some of the major Bills passed by both Houses during the Session are as under:
- The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, to authorise for taking measurements of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters and to preserve records and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
- The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to (i) unify the three municipal corporations into a single, integrated and well-equipped entity; (ii) ensure a robust mechanism for synergised and strategic planning and optimal utilisation of resources; (iii) bring about greater transparency, improved governance and more efficient delivery of civic service for the people of Delhi.
- The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022, to amend Part XV—Tripura of the Schedule to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 to insert “Darlong” community as a sub-tribe of “Kuki” after sub-tribe “(iii) Chhalya” in entry 9 in the list of Scheduled Tribes.
- The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022, to omit Bhogta community from the list of Scheduled Castes in relation to the State of Jharkhand and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 for inclusion of certain communities in the lists of Scheduled Tribes in relation to the State of Jharkhand.
India Education Summit 2022
⇒ Union Education and Skill Development Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan delivered the keynote address at the India Education Summit 2022 in New Delhi on 06 April 2022.
- India Education Summit 2022 is a dialogue platform by Google and Indian Express.
Discussion:
- The two-day conference dedicated to discussing the future of education was conducted on April 6 and 7.
- The summit included discussions on technology intervention in Government education, personalised education, keeping kids safe online, upskilling and reskilling, future of ed-tech and more.
Digital Dashboard for District Ganga Committees Performance Monitoring System
⇒ Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched the ‘Digital Dashboard for District Ganga Committees (DGCs) Performance Monitoring System’ (GDPMS) on 06 April 2022.
- The launch of DGC Digital Dashboard will go a long way in establishing a people-river connect and will play an important role in the success of Namami Gange Programme.
About DGCs:
» District Ganga Committees were constituted in the districts on the Ganga River basin for putting in place a mechanism at the district level to ensure people’s participation in management and pollution abatement in river Ganga and its tributaries.
- The DGCs are mandated to ensure proper utilization of assets created under Namami Gange, monitor drains/sewage falling in River Ganga and its tributaries, create strong connect of people with Ganga rejuvenation.
MoU Between environment and forest department of Assam and Agence Francaise de Development
⇒ The Assam Cabinet on 02 April 2022 approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the environment and forest department of the state and Agence Francaise de Development, a French funding agency, to foster bilateral dialogue in the field of environment.
- The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
About MoU:
The MoU will enhance cooperation between the forest department and international stakeholders of Africa, Asia and France regarding biodiversity conservation in the Indo-Pacific region, Water Resources.
International
9th Edition of the India – Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise
⇒ The 9th Edition of the India – Kyrgyzstan Joint Special Forces Exercise was commenced on 25 March 2022 at Special Forces Training School, Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh. It was culminated on 06 April 2022.
- During the exercise, Special Forces contingents from India and Kyrgyzstan shared their expertise and best practices of tactics, techniques and procedures to counter existing and emergent threats across the entire spectrum of conflict.
- Combat shooting, sniping, survival in mountains, hostage rescue drills and unarmed combat were practiced extensively during the Exercise.
» The joint training further strengthened the existing bond between India and Kyrgyzstan that has fostered over years of mutual respect for strategic autonomy, democratic values and zero tolerance for terrorism.
Indo-Israel Bilateral workshop on Quantum Technologies
⇒ A two-day Indo-Israel Bilateral workshop on Quantum Technologies (I2QT-2022) was concluded in New Delhi on April 06, 2022.
The workshop was the next step of the Bilateral Innovation Agreement (BIA) signed between DRDO, India and Directorate of Defense Research & Development (DDR&D), Israel in November 2021 to promote innovation and accelerated R&D in startups and MSMEs of both countries.
Organized by:
The workshop was organized by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE), IIT Delhi.
Objective:
The objective of the workshop was to deliberate on quantum technologies, evolve a joint quantum technology roadmap and plan for developing technologies by collaboration between both the countries.
Participants:
» The workshop was attended by Indian and Israeli delegations consisting of academic experts, R&D professionals and Industry partners.
- A total of 175 experts and scientists from Indian Institute of Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, etc participated in this workshop.
» From Israel, representatives of Israel’s Ministry of Defense and delegates from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) also participated in the workshop discussions.
Discussion:
The areas of discussions were around photonics-based quantum computing, sensing, encryption, quantum magnetometry, atomic clocks and free space quantum communication.