Home » Current Affairs Date: 22 May 2023

Current Affairs Date: 22 May 2023

National

26th National Youth Festival

⇒ The 26th National Youth Festival was held in Hubballi-Dharwad in Karnataka from 12th to 16th January, 2023.

Organized by:

The 26th National Youth Festival was organized by Union Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports in collaboration with Government of Karnataka.

» The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the 26th National Youth Festival in Hubbali on 12 January 2023.

    • The programme was held on National Youth Day, which is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, to honour and cherish his ideals, teachings and contributions.
Theme:

The theme of the 26th National Youth Festival was ‘Viksit Yuva – Viksit Bharat’.

Activities in the National Youth Festival 2023 include:
    1. Discussions on relevant themes like Student Centric governance and Digital India.
    2. Adventure sports activities like scuba diving were included.
    3. Exhibitions of traditional sports like Kalaripayatu (Kerala), Silambam (Tamil Nadu), Gatka (Punjab), Mallakhamb (Maharashtra) were organized.
    4. Competitive cultural events like folk dance and folk song were organized where troupes from different states participate.

» Interesting non-competitive events included social development fair ‘Yuva Kriti’, ‘Adventure Festival’, ‘Suvichar’, ‘Young artists camp’ among others.

A Youth Summit was organized at the festival, which saw plenary discussions on five themes stemming from G20 and Y20 events viz.
    1. Future of work, Industry, Innovation and 21st Century Skills
    2. Climate change and disaster risk reduction
    3. Peacebuilding and Reconciliation
    4. Shared future-youth in democracy and governance
    5. Health & Well-being
About National Youth Festival:
    • The National Youth Festival is held every year to provide exposure to our talented youth at the national level, along with galvanising them towards nation-building.
    • It brings diverse cultures from all parts of the country on a common platform and unites the participants in the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat.

India honors best Agripreneurs with National Awards

⇒ India honored best Agripreneurs with National Awards on National Youth Day. The award ceremony was held at NASC Complex in New Delhi.

The chief guest Smt Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary, MA&FW, GoI inaugurated the Awards Ceremony and distributed awards to Best Agripreneurs and Best Nodal Training Institutes.

National Awards:

82 best Agripreneurs who were trained under the Central Sector Scheme – Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business (AC&ABC) of Govt of India for their significant contribution to farmers through agri-clinic and agribusiness services received National Awards.

    • Besides, 8 Nodal Training Institutes (NTIs) who impart AC&ABC training efficiently also received Awards for their best training, handholding and facilitation activities.
About Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business:
    • Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business (AC&ABC), a mega flagship Scheme of Govt of India implemented in the country in collaboration with NABARD since 2002.
    • It aims to transform unemployed youth into self-employed Agripreneurs through a 45 days free residential training at different parts of the country with a provision for availing loan and subsidy from the banks.
    • The AC&ABC Scheme is being implemented by National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad in different states in the country with a network of 136 Nodal Training Institutes (NTIs) spread across all the states.

Parshuram Kund Festival 2023

⇒ Parshuram Kund Festival (PKF – 2023), the Kumbh of Northeast, was celebrated from 12 to 16 January 2023 at Lohit, Arunachal Pradesh.

About Parshuram Kund:
    • Parshuram Kund is a Hindu pilgrimage spot nestled on the Brahmaputra plateau in the lower reaches of the Lohit River.
    • Parshuram kund is situated at Telu Shati/Tailung area of Mishmi plateau in the lower reaches of the Lohit River.
    • The origin of the kund is associated with Parashuram’s matricide described in the Srimad Bhagvat, Kalikapurana and in the Mahabharata.
    • The holy site is about 21 km away from Tezu and is dedicated to sage Parshuram.
    • It is believed that taking a dip in the holy water of this lake cleanses one from their sin. The Kund opens up for devotees in January.
    • Every Year, on the day of Makar Sankranti in the month of Magha (usually January 14), pilgrims in thousands from various part of the country visit the place for a holy dip.
    • Thus, for a period of two to three weeks in January every year Parshuram Kund turns into a Mini India. Hence, in view of this, the Parashuram Kund mela in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh is regarded as “The Kumbh Mela of the East”.
Parshuram Mela:
    • The focal point of Makar Sankranti which falls on 14th and 15th January is the Parshuram kund Mela which is celebrated in Telu Shati/Tailung area in Lohit District and which is a regular event since 1972.

International

13th India - US Trade Policy Forum (TPF) Meeting

⇒ India and the United States held the 13th Ministerial-level meeting of India – United States Trade Policy Forum (TPF) in Washington, DC, on January 11, 2023.

Co-chaired:

Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal and the US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai co-chaired the meeting.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal paid an official visit to New York and Washington DC from 9-11 January 2023 to participate in 13th India-US Trade Policy Forum.

In the first leg of visit, the Minister interacted with CEOs of reputed multinational enterprises, participated in community event, joined roundtable meetings with business leaders and think tank and visited industries in New York.

    • Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal attended the 13th Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting in Washington DC on 11th January 2023.
Highlights of the 13th India – USA TPF 2023:
    • Ministers appreciated that bilateral trade in goods and services continued to rise rapidly and reached about $160 billion in 2021.
    • India appreciated the resumption of inspections by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and asked the U.S. side to also resume inspections of new facilities and non-priority areas at the earliest.
    • The Ministers welcomed the finalization of the Turtle Excluder Device (TED) design.
    • India highlighted its interest in restoration of its beneficiary status under the US Generalized System of Preferences program.  The United States noted that this could be considered, as warranted, in relation to the eligibility criteria determined by the US Congress.
    • They encouraged their regulatory bodies to engage in discussions on exchanges of knowledge, capacity building, and recognition of qualifications to further enhance trade in professional services. The Ministers also noted that greater co-operation in the Fintech sector.
    • They also discussed the potential of digital health, particularly telemedicine services as an element in continuity of care during the health emergencies.
    • The Ministers launched a new working group on “Resilient Trade” to deepen bilateral dialogue on a range of issues that can enhance the resiliency and sustainability of the trade relationship including on trade facilitation, benefitting workers. At the same time, it can also promote sustainable and inclusive growth, and common sustainability challenges including mobilization of sustainable finance, scaling up of innovative clean technologies, circular economy approaches and promotion of sustainable lifestyle choices.

Joint Statement on India – United States Trade Policy Forum (Official Link)

About TPF:
    • The 12th TPF Ministerial meeting was held on 23 November 2021 after a gap of four years in New Delhi.
    • TPF is a platform for continuous engagement between two countries in the area of trade and to further the trade and investment relations between the two countries.
    • Both countries are looking forward to the meeting and confident of making progress on the trade issues.
    • The TPF is chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister from Indian side and USTR from the US side.
Other Points:
    • Both India and USA are natural partners and have trade complementarities, long standing strategic and economic relationship, people to people contact, and both are vibrant democracies too.
    • The two countries are also collaborating under the QUAD, I2U2 (India-Israel/ UAE-USA) and IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework).

Source: PIB & Other News Reports

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