National
CEO of UIDAI
⇒ Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Shri Amit Agrawal assumed charge as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on 19 June 2023.
About Shri Amit Agrawal:
- He is an officer of the 1993 batch IAS from the Chhattisgarh cadre.
- Prior to joining UIDAI as CEO, he was Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Before that he was Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
NHAI Launches ‘Knowledge Sharing Platform’
⇒ For sharing of knowledge and innovative best practices, NHAI has launched a ‘Knowledge Sharing’ platform.
Key Points:
- Hosted on the NHAI website, this initiative will help the authority to collaborate with experts and citizens who want to share knowledge and insights related to topics such as road design, construction, road safety, environment sustainability and related fields.
- The platform will encourage sharing of best practices from around the world and will contribute towards holistic development of the National Highway infrastructure in the country.
- With the development of State-of-the-art Tunnels, Modern bridges, wildlife corridors and Expressways, it is important for National Highway infrastructure development to have wider participation.
- The knowledge sharing platform will encourage experts and citizens to share best practices and contribute towards Nation Building.
Union Minister Shri Amit Shah inaugurates CREDAI Garden-People's Park in Ahmedabad
⇒ Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah inaugurated various development works and also performed Bhoomipujan in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 20 June 2023.
- The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation inaugurated newly constructed park at New Ranip by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), newly constructed Jagatpur Railway flyover at a cost of Rs 67 crore by AMC and Railways at Chandlodia and People’s Park at CREDAI Garden.
- Shri Shah also performed Bhumipujan of Trimurti Hospital in Bavla.
CREDAI Garden-People’s Park in Ahmedabad:
- CREDAI has constructed People’s Park in 12,000 square meters at a cost of about Rs 2.5 crore.
- CREDAI has made this beautiful place keeping in mind the environment as well as the middle class, upper middle class and poor children.
- CREDAI is doing commendable work in infrastructure creation, skill development of youth and social reform which has increased its credibility as an institute.
International
4th G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting
⇒ The 4th Tourism Working Group Meeting (TWG) was held in Goa from June 19 – 20, 2023. The meeting served as a platform for discussions on the GOA Roadmap for Tourism as a vehicle for achieving SDGs and the G20 Tourism Ministers’ Declaration.
- Under G20 India, the TWG is working on five interconnected priority areas. These priorities are key building blocks for accelerating the transition of the tourism sector and achieving the targets for 2030 SDGs. TWG has been instrumental in fostering collaboration & taking decisive action to promote sustainable & resilient growth in the tourism sector.
Day 1:
The 4th Tourism Working Group of G20 began in Goa with two important side events on the first day.
Side Event:
» The first side event was organised on the theme ‘Making Cruise Tourism a Model for Sustainable and Responsible Travel’.
- At the event, in the presence of Tourism Minister, Shri G Kishan Reddy, Ministry of Tourism signed a MoU with Airbnb to jointly promote heritage homesteads.
» The second side event was organised on the theme ‘Towards a Circular Economy of Plastics in Tourism -The Global Tourism Plastic Initiative’, in collaboration with United Nations Environment Program and United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
- The side event focused on encouraging the engagement of tourism stakeholders to address plastic pollution through circular approaches across the tourism value chain.
- The event encompassed high-level introductory remarks and a keynote presentation on the action framework proposed by the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative (GTPI). This was followed by a panel discussion with tourism stakeholders and a signing ceremony to welcome the adherence of several organizations to the GTPI.
- At the second side event, an MOU was signed between the Central Nodal Agency, Sustainable Tourism, Responsible Tourism Society of India (RTSOI), and Punjab Tourism Board in the presence of Minister Shri G. Kishan Reddy, to collectively unite and address plastic pollution in the tourism sector.
» Special sessions on Gender balance in Cruise Tourism, Developing India as a hub of Cruise Tourism, and Global Perspective on Cruise Tourism were organised.
Day 2:
» On the second day, the inaugural session of the 4th Tourism Working Group Meeting under G20 hosted by the Ministry of Tourism was held at Goa.
Side event:
» A thematic discussion on ‘Making India a Hub for Cruise Tourism’ was organised in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
- At the event discussions were held on successful practices of Cruise Tourism Promotion and Development, Development of River Cruising, and the way forward in developing cruise Tourism.
- Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and DoNER, Shri G Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Tourism, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, and Minister of State for Tourism, Shri Ajay Bhatt unveiled the ‘Draft strategy-Vision and Integrated Cruise Tourism Strategy for India’.
Later, delegates deliberated and held negotiations on the draft G20 Tourism Ministerial Declaration, which was to be presented to the G20 Tourism Ministers for consideration during their meeting which was held from June 21 – 22, 2023.
Important Day
World Sickle Cell Day 2023
⇒ World Sickle Cell Day is observed every year on June 19, to raise awareness of sickle cell at a national and international level.
History:
The day came to existence on 22nd December 2008, after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that recognised sickle cell disease as a public health problem. The UNGA also recognised Sickle disease as one of the world’s foremost genetic diseases.
World Sickle Cell Day in India:
» Observing the World Sickle Cell Day, Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, chaired a Sensitization Workshop on Sickle Cell Anaemia Disease, organised at the National Tribal Research Institute in New Delhi.
Theme:
The theme of World Sickle Disease Day 2023 was “Building and strengthening global sickle cell communities, formalizing newborn screening and knowing your sickle cell disease status”.
- The theme is about recognizing the first step to understanding the genotype in infants and adults in fighting sickle cell disease. The theme also urges to utilize advanced technology to identify sickle cell disease status.
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India is the nodal body to look after all the development agenda of Persons with Disabilities of the country.
Sickle cell disease in India:
- Sickle cell disease is the most prevalent inherited blood disorder.
- Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), a genetic condition, is widespread among the tribal population in India where it is estimated that about 1 in 86 births among STs have SCD.
- The disease in India is prevalent predominantly in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, western Odisha, eastern Gujarat and in pockets of the Nilgiri Hills in north Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
- The types of sickle cell disease are Hbs beta thalassemia, HbSS & HbSc.
- The disease affects haemoglobin (responsible for carrying oxygen in the body) in red blood cells, which can result in morbidity and mortality via distinct pathways.