National
36th Surajkund International Crafts Mela-2023
⇒ The Vice President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the 36th Surajkund International Crafts Mela at Faridabad, Haryana on 03 February 2023.
36th International Surajkund Crafts Mela 2023 was organized from 03 to 19 February, 2023 at Faridabad, Haryana.
- The Surajkund Mela is unique as it showcases the richness and diversity of the handicrafts, handlooms and cultural fabric of India, & is the largest crafts fair in the world.
- The aim of the Surajkund International Craft Mela was to promote handicrafts, handlooms with the aid of craftsmen invited from all over the country, and to identify languishing and lesser-known crafts and to introduce them to patrons.
Organized by:
The Mela was jointly hosted by the Surajkund Mela Authority in collaboration with the Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture, External Affairs, Department of Tourism, Government of Haryana and Haryana Tourism Corporation.
Partner Nation:
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was the partner Nation for 36th Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2023. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as ‘Partner nation’ showcased its crafts, culture, art forms and cuisines at the mela.
- With the participation of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the event witnessed colours and cultures from across the globe with countries like Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Uzbekistan Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Cambodia UAE to name a few. Each country showcased the best of their heritage in the form of handicrafts and performing arts.
Theme State:
This year Eight North Eastern States were the Theme State of the Mela.
The North Eastern Region (NER) comprises of eight States viz Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
- North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC) Limited and North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation (NEHHDC) were the nodal agencies who set up the North Eastern Region Theme State pavilion.
- The pavilion included a permanent structure comprising elements from all States of the NER, fashion show extravaganzas, stall of artisans, cultural performance apart from several other activities showcasing rich culture of the NER and highlighting progress and development in the region.
About Mela:
The Surajkund Crafts Mela was hosted for the first time in 1987 to showcase richness and diversity of the handicrafts, handlooms, and the cultural heritage of India.
About Surajkund:
- Surajkund, the site of popular Surajkund International Crafts Mela is located at a distance of 8 km from South Delhi in Faridabad.
- Surajkund derives its name from the ancient amphitheatre, meaning ‘lake of the sun’ constructed here in the 10th century by Raja SurajPal, one of the Tomar chieftains.
- ‘Suraj’ means ‘Sun’ and ‘Kund’ means ‘pool/lake or reservoir’. The place is built against the backdrop of the Aravalli Mountain range.
CEO Conclave at PLASTINDIA 2023
⇒ Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Health & Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya chaired the CEO Conclave at PLASTINDIA 2023 on 03 February 2023.
- The conference saw the presence of over 90+ CEOs of the Plastic Industry from both India and abroad.
- Exhibitors from more than 45 Countries of the world as well as more than 2,00,000 Business Visitors across the world visited.
About PLASTINDIA 2023:
» Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya launched Plastindia 2023-11th International Plastic Exhibition & Conference in May 2022.
- PLASTINDIA refers to a series of exhibitions under the Plastindia Foundation, which held the 11th International Plastics Exhibition, Conference and Convention from 1st-5th February, 2023 at ITPO Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
- The exhibition provided opportunities for employment generation, facilitate the growth of the Indian plastic industry and make India a hub for sourcing plastic for global needs.
- PLASTINDIA 2023 showcased India as the global hub for sourcing processed items related to Plastics, Raw materials, Machinery and products for use in all segments of human life.
- As Business is becoming globalized, the Government is aware of the needs of Industry, and is now playing a facilitating role as compared to a regulatory role played a few years ago and is supporting Industry to become globally competitive.
International
First Meeting of the G20-Chief Science Advisers Roundtable
⇒ The First Meeting of G20-Chief Science Advisers Roundtable (G20-CSAR) was held at Ramnagar, Uttarakhand from March 28-29, 2023.
- The meeting witnessed intense discussion on issues of transboundary Science & Technology issues of mutual interest.
- Around 54 chief science advisors from 18 countries participated including America, Argentina, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy and Japan.
Led by:
G20-Chief Science Advisors Roundtable (G20-CSAR) is the flagship event under India’s G20 Presidency and led by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
The day-long roundtable witnessed discussions under the following broad themes:
- Opportunities in One Health for better disease control and pandemic preparedness
Under this theme, the discussion was held on Pandemic preparedness plan for flexible, adaptive, and timely responses to pandemics, Integrated disease surveillance mechanisms for humans, livestock, and wildlife, R&D roadmap for diseases of One Health importance, and investment in analytics (such as disease modeling, AI/ML tools) and data standards.
2. Synergizing Global Efforts to Expand the Access to Scholarly Scientific Knowledge
Under the second theme, delegates discussed that the access should be free, immediate, and universal, high subscription and Article Processing Charges levied by journals must be reduced, the establishment of Interoperable inter-linking of national repositories with international repositories/ archives, and Open Access mandate to make knowledge outputs of public-funded scientific research widely available.
3. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Science & Technology (S&T)
In the third session, the participating countries shared their work in advancing access to the underrepresented, under-privileged, marginalized, minority as well as tribal/ native communities in the larger scientific enterprise.
- In the session, the Inclusion of Traditional Knowledge Systems (TKS) in formal systems of knowledge through due scientific validation process, recognizing the potential of language diversity, and addressing the bottlenecks in accessing scientific knowledge were also discussed.
4. Institutional Mechanism for Inclusive, Continuous, and Action-Oriented Global S&T Policy Dialogue
The fourth session discussed the need for having an Institutional mechanism for inclusive, continuous, and action-oriented global S&T policy dialogue.
- It was agreed upon that the scientific advisers play a critical role in shaping policy choices by providing evidence-driven science advice and that the in the spirit of cooperation and dialogue, it is the responsibility of chief science advisers to collaborate and engage in international dialogue to address transboundary issues affecting the entire scientific enterprise so that the science and technology can benefit all.
» The deliberations and engagement on the topics discussed will continue until August 2023, when the next meeting is scheduled, in which a Science Policy Communiqué will be released.
- The 2nd G20-CSAR will be held in Bengaluru during 27-29 August 2023.
Background:
- G20-CSAR is a government-to-government level initiative conceptualised through India’s G20-Presidency.
- The motivation of this initiative is to bring together the Chief Science Advisers and their equivalents of G20 member countries, as well as the invited countries, to deliberate upon and develop collaborative frameworks for some of the common pressing global science and technology (S&T) policy issues.
- This initiative will also help in establishing an effective and coherent global science advice mechanism.
- During India’s G20 presidency, two high-level G20-CSAR meetings are being held.
Inaugural Army to Army Staff Talks (AAST) between Indian Army and Royal Cambodian Army
⇒ Lieutenant General Hun Manet, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and Commander of Royal Cambodian Army along with a delegation visited India from 02 to 04 February 2023.
- This was the maiden visit by any Commander of Royal Cambodian Army and marks a milestone in Army-to-Army relations between both countries.
Key Points:
» On 3 February 2023, the General Officer called on Mr Giridhar Aramane, Defence Secretary and was briefed on Indian indigenous defence equipment manufacturing eco-system by the Department of Defence Production (DDP) and the Army Design Bureau.
- He later called-on the Hon’ble Vice President of India Shri Jagdeep Dhankar, Hon’ble Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Deputy National Security Advisor Mr Vikram Misri.
» During the meeting, General Manoj Pande, COAS reaffirmed India’s support to Cambodia by offering customised training modules for the Royal Cambodian Army and Lt Gen Hun Manet announced the schedule for the conduct of first Army to Army Staff Talks in Cambodia.
- The Indian Army will be conducting tailor made courses in various contemporary subjects at its premier training establishments and deploy a Training team to Cambodia. Both Chiefs signed the ‘Terms of Reference’ for Staff Talks and exchanged customised training folders.
» On 04 February 2023, Lt Gen Hun Manet met General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff.
Army to Army Staff Talks (AAST) between Indian Army and Royal Cambodian Army
» The inaugural Army to Army Staff Talks (AAST) between the Indian Army and the Royal Cambodian Army (RCA) took place in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from April 24 to April 27, 2023.
The Staff Talks were held as envisaged in the Terms of Reference signed between the Indian Army and the Royal Cambodian Army during the maiden visit to India in February 2023 of then Lt General Hun Manet.
Discussion:
- The two sides discussed enhancing training cooperation, conduct of tailor-made courses for the RCA personnel in India, deputation of experts from India, Indian assistance for demining operations by the Royal Cambodian Army, and capacity enhancement through military hardware.
- A roadmap for defence cooperation activities between both armies was also developed.
Other Points:
- India and Cambodia have shared centuries old cultural, religious and people to people connect.
- Cambodia remains a key partner in India’s ‘Act East’ policy. Both nations share cordial relations in the field of defence and security.
- Defence Cooperation between both countries is governed by Bilateral Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in 2007.
- Bilateral mechanism between both the Armies is being institutionalised by means of Army-to-Army Staff Talks which will enhance the defence cooperation between the two countries.
- Direct relationship with the present-day Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) was established by the Indian Battalions (1 ASSAM Regt and 4 JAK RIF) forming part of UNTAC (UN Transition Authority in Cambodia) after the Paris Peace accord in 1991.
Death
Veteran filmmaker, Shri K. Viswanath
⇒ Legendary Telugu filmmaker K. Viswanath passed away on 02 February 2023 in Hyderabad. He was 92.
About Viswanath:
- The five-time national award winner Viswanath who was popularly for iconic films such as Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, Swathi Muthyam and Swarna Kamalam.
- Viswanath made his directorial debut with 1965 film Aatma Gowravam, which went on to win the state Nandi award.
- His 1985 Telugu film Swati Muthyam, featuring Kamal Haasan in the central character as an autistic man who comes to the rescue of a young widow, was India’s entry for Best Language Foreign Film for the Academy Awards.
- Some of his popular Hindi films include Sargam, Kaamchor, Shubh Kaamna, Jaag Utha Insan, Sanjog, Eeshwar and Dhanwaan.
- In 1992, he was awarded the Padma Shri and the Dada Saheb Phalke award in 2017. He had won the Filmfare awards eight times in a career spanning over four decades.