National
Khanan Prahari App Helping to Curb Illegal Coal Mining Activities
⇒ The mobile app Khanan Prahari, which allows citizens to report incidents of illegal coal mining through geo-tagged photographs and textual information, is a significant step taken by the Ministry of Coal towards curbing illegal coal mining activities.
Key Points:
- The corresponding web portal called as Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) has been developed in association with the Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Application & Geoinformatics, Gandhinagar, and CMPDI, Ranchi.
- The CMSMS has been developed to curb illegal mining and take transparent action as an e-Governance initiative of GoI on use of Space Technology.
Objective:
The objective of the Khanan Prahari mobile app and CMSMS web portal is to encourage public participation through reporting about illegal coal mining.
Key features of the Khanan Prahari mobile app include:
- Reporting Incidents: Users can easily report incidents of illegal mining by taking photographs and providing comments on the incident. The app allows for the geotagging of photographs by enabling the GPS location feature.
- Confidentiality: The user’s identity is kept confidential, ensuring privacy and security.
- Complaint Tracking: Complainants receive a complaint number, which they can use to easily track the status of their reported complaints on the Khanan Prahari mobile app.
Background:
- Illegal coal mining poses a threat to the environment, the lives of those involved in illegal mining, and the general decay in the traditional subsistence base and the country’s economy.
- The government aims to take transparent action against illegal mining, using space technology, as an e-Governance initiative.
- The government recognizes the importance of public participation in combating this menace. The Khanan Prahari mobile app serves as a powerful tool for citizens to contribute to the fight against illegal coal mining.
- So far, the Khanan Prahari mobile app has received a significant response, with a total of 483 complaints registered. Out of these, 78 complaints have been verified as accurate and appropriate actions have been taken accordingly.
International
Prime Minister of Thailand
⇒ Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn swore in Prime Minister Mr Srettha Thavisin and cabinet ministers in a coalition government made up of 11 parties on 05 Septemper 2023.
- Srettha, whose Pheu Thai party leads the coalition, and 33 cabinet ministers pledged their loyalty to the monarchy during the ceremony at the Dusit Palace in Bangkok.
The 61-year-old real estate tycoon was elected by Thai lawmakers on August 22 after his nomination by the Pheu Thai party, the latest to emerge from the political movement forged by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
G20 Culture Ministers’ Meeting
⇒ The G20 Culture Ministers’ Meeting, under India’s Presidency, was held in Varanasi on August 26, 2023.
- The Ministers of Culture and dignitaries from G20 members and invitee countries attended the meeting along with representatives from international organizations.
The Culture Ministers’ met for the first time on the sidelines of the G20 in 2020, under the Saudi Arabian Presidency. In 2021, Culture was formalised as a Working Group during the Italian Presidency, leading to the inaugural G20 Culture Ministers’ Meeting and the adoption of the ‘Rome Culture Ministers’ Declaration’. The ‘Bali Declaration’ of 2022 under the Indonesian presidency further stressed the role of culture in sustainable development. In Varanasi, under the Indian G20 Presidency, was the fourth time that the Culture Ministers of the G20 members and invitee countries met.
» Under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture, the G20 Culture Working Group (CWG) under India’s Presidency engaged in shaping tangible action-oriented outcomes for the four priority areas articulated by India’s CWG.
Key Priorities:
- Protection & Restitution of Cultural Property
- Harnessing Living Heritage for a Sustainable Future
- Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy
- Leveraging Digital technologies for the Protection and Promotion of Culture
» The Culture Ministers’ meeting was building upon the success of the four Culture Working Group Meetings as well as the four Global Thematic Webinars that aimed to arrive at actionable outcomes while positioning culture at the heart of policy-making.
The following CWG Meetings have been held:
- 1st Culture Working Group Meeting
- 2nd Culture Working Group Meeting
- 3rd Culture Working Group Meeting
- 4th Culture Working Group Meeting
» The Meeting began with a video message from the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Highlights:
» The G20 Culture Ministers agreed to harness the transformative power of culture to address today’s multifaceted development challenges such as climate change, rising inequalities and the impact of the digital transformation among others, laying forth the need to shape more inclusive societies, grounded in the full respect for and recognition of the diversity and equal dignity of all cultures.
» The Outcome Document of India’s Culture Ministers Meeting has been christened the “Kashi Culture Pathway”.
- It summarizes the commitments and consensus arrived by the G20 Culture Ministers on the priorities articulated by the G20 Culture Working Group under India’s G20 Presidency.
» The report ‘G20 Culture: Shaping the Global Narrative for Inclusive Growth’ was launched.
- It includes insights and recommendations from the expert-driven four Global Thematic Webinars on the priorities articulated by the Indian presidency that were held during the months of March and April 2023.
- This compendious publication documents the proceedings of the Global Thematic Webinars organised by India’s G20 Presidency.
» The Culture Ministers released a special edition stamp too. This special stamp was launched to commemorate the hallmark campaign ‘Culture Unites All’.
- Throughout the course of the CWG, the ‘Culture Unites All’ campaign stood as a testament to India’s unwavering belief in multilateralism for inclusive growth.
G20 4th Culture Working Group Meeting
» The 4th G20 Culture Working Group (CWG) Meeting was held from August 24th-25th, 2023 in Varanasi culminating in the Culture Ministers’ Meeting (CMM) on 26th August 2023.
- The Culture Ministers’ Meeting in Varanasi aimed to catalyze collective actions for accelerating progress on the four priority areas articulated by the Indian Presidency.
- The CWG, under India’s G20 presidency, had launched the ‘Culture Unites All’ campaign to highlight India’s unwavering belief in multilateralism based on peaceful coexistence among diverse cultures and communities.
Highlights:
- On the first day, delegates from the G20 members, and international organisations held discussions on the Draft declaration at the 4th G20 Culture Working Group (CWG) Meeting, under India’s Presidency.
- The delegates’ discussions on the Draft declaration concluded on the second day of the 4th G20 Culture Working Group (CWG) Meeting.
- The CWG under India’s G20 Presidency, through its Outcome Document and Chair’s summary, emphasized positioning culture at the heart of global policymaking.
Sports
IBSA World Games 2023
⇒ The IBSA World Games 2023 was held at the University of Birmingham, England from 18–27 August 2023. It was 7th edition of IBSA World Games.
- The tournament featured the sports of archery, chess, cricket, blind football, goalball, judo, powerlifting, showdown, tenpin bowling and tennis.
- The 2023 Games was the first to include cricket and featured both a men’s and women’s competition.
India’s performance in cricket:
» Indian women’s blind cricket team and men’s blind cricket team won gold and silver respectively at the IBSA World Games 2023.
- Indian women’s blind cricket team created history on 26 August 2023 as it defeated Australia in the finals by 9 wickets and won gold medal at the IBSA World Games.
- India men’s blind cricket team also won a silver medal after losing to Pakistan in the final of the men’s T20 cricket event at the IBSA World Games 2023 on August 26.
History:
- The IBSA World Games or World Blind Games are an international multi-sport event, held every four years, organized by the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA).
- The first event took place at Madrid, Spain in 1998.