Home » Current Affairs Date: 31 May 2023

Current Affairs Date: 31 May 2023

National

First ever Military Tattoo & Tribal Dance Festival in the National Capital

⇒ Military Tattoo & Tribal Dance Festival ‘Aadi Shaurya – Parv Parakram Ka’ was held on January 23-24, 2023 at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, New Delhi.

    • The two-day festival was organised as part of the Republic Day Celebrations 2023 and to mark the 126th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (celebrated as Parakram Diwas).
    • The two-day festival showcased the prowess of the Armed Forces and the ethnic beauty of India’s tribal culture.
Organised by:

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence, with the Indian Coast Guard as the coordinating agency, organised a Military Tattoo and Tribal Dance Festival ‘Aadi Shaurya – Parv Parakram Ka.’

Aim:
    • The aim of the festival was to remember the sacrifices of the country’s bravehearts and celebrate the rich cultural heritage which makes India so unique and diverse.
    • The objective was to celebrate together the bravery of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose; embrace the true spirit of India and renew the commitment to building a strong and prosperous ‘New India’.
Programme:
    • The festival was set to exhibit the prowess of the Armed Forces in a Military Tattoo and featured various power-packed dance performances by tribal communities showcasing the beauty of India’s diverse tribal culture from across India.
    • The programme comprised a Military Tattoo (Paramotor Gliding, Hot Air Balloon, Horse Show, Motor Cycle Display, Air Warrior Drill, Navy Band).
    • The programme also included an hour of traditional dance performances (Khukhri Dance, Gatka, Mallakhamb, Kalaripaytu, Thangta) by tribal artists from across the country.
    • Tribal dance troupes from states like Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh and more participated in the programme.
    • Traditional dance performances like Gaurr Maria, Gaddi Nati, Siddi Dhamal, Baiga Pardhoni, Purulia, Bagurumba, Ghusadi, Balti, Lambadi, Paika, Rathwa, Budigali, Songimukhawate, Karma, Mangho, Ka Shad Mastieh, Kummikali, Palaiyar, Cheraw & Rekham Pada performed during the main event.

3-day Resiliency & Sustainability Summit: Vision 2047

⇒ The 3-day Resiliency & Sustainability Summit: Vision 2047 was held on 17-19 January 2023 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

The Summit provided a platform for exchange of good practices and case studies on the futuristic Disaster Risk and Climate resilience issues.

Co-organised by:

The summit was co-organised by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) along with the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and GIZ- India.

Objectives of the Summit:
    • To assess and discuss various aspects of present and futuristic disaster risks and climate contexts, and their changing scenarios
    • To share recent lessons, innovations, good practices and case studies in science, policy-planning, and practice-interface in disaster resilience and risk reduction,
    • To derive strategies and recommendations for localising resilience agenda for region specific, sectoral and strategic interventions with futuristic perspectives.

Shri Krishna S. Vatsa, Member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that Regional disparity is a central challenge for reducing disaster risk & particularly climate-related disasters in the country.

Member NDMA insisted on the urgent need for the development of vision 2047 to challenge a way forward toward disaster risk reduction, at the summit.

Key Points:
    • The Resiliency & Sustainability Summit: Vision 2047 brought together experts from all over India and deliberated upon the key aspects of present and futuristic disaster risks and climate contexts as well as their changing scenarios.
    • The summit deliberations identified key contexts of futuristic ‘risk and resilience’ along with a realistic roadmap for ‘localization’ agenda under an integrated strategic framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Resilience.
    • The Summit was attended by the policy makers, senior level Professionals/officials from government, UN agencies, Financing institutions, iNGOS/NGOs, international and national level experts and academicians/thinkers, scholars, etc.

'SAINYA RANAKSHETRAM 2.0'

⇒ The Indian Army under the aegis of HQ Army Training Command (ARTRAC) organised the second edition of Hackathon aptly named “SAINYA RANAKSHETRAM 2.0” from October 2022 to January 2023.

    • Its aim was to seek solutions to operational cyber challenges and to jump start and telescope the development time for innovative solutions in the field of Cyber Security.
    • The prize winners of the event were felicitated by Gen Manoj Pande, Chief of the Army Staff during a virtual function on 17 January 2023.
    • The event was aimed at providing a platform to identify indigenous talent in niche domains and enhance the standard of training in domains of Cyber Deterrence, Security Software Coding, Electro Magnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO) and Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ ML).
Winners:

Thus, to meet this end state, the Indian Army organised Sainya Ranakshetram 2.0 – A Cyber Threat Seminar Cum Workshop. It was held under four sub-events.

» Secure Software Coding

    • Mr Aravindha Hariharan M from Coimbatore, a Cyber Security enthusiast holding a number of certifications has won the prize in this category.

» ESMO: Customised Indian Army Specific Stack for Wi-Fi 6

    • Colonel Nishant Rathee, Commandant, Army HQ Computer Centre is the winner in this category.
    • Mr Suryasaradhi Balarkan currently working with L&T is the runners up and Ms Tanisha Joshi, who is currently pursuing a Ph D in Dark Energy has secured the 3rd prize.

» Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning: NLP Processing and Decoding of Radio Intercepts

    • Master Mithil Salunkhe, a 15-year-old class 10 student at Gyan Mata Vidya Vihar, Nanded, Maharashtra has come first this category.
    • Mr Prashant Kumar Singh, who holds a B Tech (CS) from Punjab Technical University and presently pursuing B Sc (Data Science) from IIT Madras has come second while Cdr Sushant Sarswat, a Naval Officer presently posted in HQ Eastern Naval Command has secured the third position.

» Cyber Deterrence: Capture the Flag (CTF)

    • The winner of this challenge was Mr Shaksham Jaiswal, BE (CS) from MVSR Engineering College in Hyderabad. He is now working as a freelancer, and has more than 15 core qualifications in the field.
    • The 2nd prize winner is Mr Prince Kumar Patel presently doing BE (IT) at Army Institute of Technology (AIT), Pune and Mr Hardeep Singh, a BCA from Maharaja Ganga Singh University in Bikaner has won the 3rd prize.

The Cyber Threat Seminar cum Workshop facilitated engagement with the intrinsic talent at levels of individuals, academia and organisations, leading to identification of suitable talent in the field of Cyber Security both within the Defence forces and in the civil academia.

International

1st meeting of the Development Working Group (DWG) under India’s G20 Presidency

⇒ The first meeting of the Development Working Group (DWG) under India’s G20 Presidency was held on December 13-16, 2022 in Mumbai.

    • G20 Members, Guest countries and invited International Organizations attended the meeting in person.
Side events:

On December 13, 2022, the Indian Presidency held two side events – on “Data for Development: Role of G20 in advancing the 2030 Agenda” and “Infusing new LiFE into Green Development” – before the official meeting of the Working Group.

Focus:

The three-day Development Working Group meeting focused on G20 collective actions for accelerating progress on the SDGs, and support to developing countries in dealing with immediate concerns relating to food, fuel and fertiliser security.

Sessions:

In these meetings, sessions were held on Data For Development, Role of G-20 in Advancing the 2030 Agenda, Infusing New LiFE into Green Development and Accelerating Progress on the SDGs.

About DWG:
    • The DWG meetings aims to discuss developmental issues in Developing Countries (DC), Least Developed Countries (LD) and Island Countries (Small Island Developing States/SIDS).
    • The DWG is a platform for G-20 member countries to come together and prioritize multilateralism, share solutions that promote growth, remap development plans and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal’s targets (SDG).
    • The G-20 possesses the knowledge, expertise, financial resources required to reverse trajectories that have gone off track.
About G 20:
    • The Group of Twenty (G20) is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States and the European Union.
    • The G20 members represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
    • The G20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis as a forum for the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss global economic and financial issues.
    • December 1, 2022 is a red-letter day as India assumed the G20 Presidency from Indonesia and will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit for the first time in the country in 2023.
    • The theme of India’s G20 Presidency “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth · One Family · One Future” closely ties with LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment).

Important Day

Thiruvalluvar Day

⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi paid homage to Thiruvalluvar on Thiruvalluvar Day on 16 January 2023.

Thiruvalluvar Day is usually observed on 15th or 16th January in Tamil Nadu. It is celebrated as part of Pongal celebrations.
History:
    • Thiruvalluvar Day is observed to mark the birth anniversary of Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar.
    • Thiruvalluvar is known as the author of the Tirukkural, a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economical matters.
    • The first Thiruvalluvar Day was celebrated on 17 and 18 May 1935 at Chennai Pachaiappan College.

Source: PIB & Other News Reports

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