National
SAMARTH campaign to promote digital transactions at Gram Panchayat Level
⇒ Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh launched the SAMARTH campaign to promote digital transactions at Gram Panchayat Level.
Union Minister Shri Giriraj Singh launched the ‘Campaign on Promoting Digital Transactions in 50000 Gram Panchayats’ under the AmritMahotsav in Lucknow on 25 May 2023.
- The Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India ran a “Campaign on Promoting Digital Transactions in 50000 Gram Panchayats” which started from 1st February 2023 and continued till 15 August 2023 under the AzadiKaAmritMahotsav.
Aim:
The key thrust of the campaign was to promote Digital Transactions in rural areas, particularly among women.
India’s Longest Sea Bridge Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL)
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi expressed his happiness over India’s longest sea bridge Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) and said that it is next generation infrastructure which will boost ‘Ease of Living’ for people.
Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), India’s longest sea bridge, is nearing completion with 96.60% work complete.
- This 6-lane sea bridge actually makes Mumbai the closest to Navi Mumbai and it connects the area called as ‘Sewri’ in Mumbai to an area called as ‘Uluwe, Chirude’ in Navi Mumbai. The MTHL spans 21.8 kilometers in length with over 16 kilometers long stretch over the sea.
About Sewri to Nhava- 22 km long 6-lane sea bridge:
- Distance between Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Raigad, Mumbai-Pune Expressway and Mumbai-Goa Highway reduced
- Fuel, transportation cost & 1 hour travel time will be saved
- 1st project in India with open road tolling system
- MTHL is India’s longest and World’s 10th longest sea bridge
- For the first time in India Orthotropic steel deck technology used
- Weight of Boeing 747 aircraft i.e. 85,000 Metric Ton of orthotropic steel used
- Weight equivalent to 17 Eiffel Towers i.e. 1,70,000 Metric Ton of steel bars used
- 4 times the diameter of Earth i.e. 48,000 km long prestressing wires used
- 9,75,000 cubic meters of concrete used which is 6 times the concrete used for The Statue of Liberty
- About 35 km long pile liners used which is 35 times longer than that of the Burj Khalifa
International
India-Saudi Arabia Bilateral Maritime Exercise 'AL MOHED AL HINDI 23'
⇒ The second edition of Bilateral Naval Exercise Al Mohed Al Hindi 23 between Indian Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Force RSNF was held from 21 to 25 May 2023.
Harbor phase:
» INS Tarkash and INS Subhadra and IN Dornier, Maritime Patrol Aircraft arrived at Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia on 21 May 2023 to participate in Naval Exercise Al Mohed Al Hindi 23.
- The visit of these ships signifies the beginning of the harbor phase of the second edition of the naval exercise between the two nations, known as ‘AL-MOHED AL-HINDI 2023.’
- As part of harbour phase of exercise between Indian Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Force, Special Forces interactions from either side, pre-sail conference for upcoming sea phase and friendly football match were conducted. IN crew visited King Fahad Naval Academy KFNA.
Sea phase:
» The sea phase of second edition of bilateral exercise ‘Al Mohed Al Hindi 23’, between Indian Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Force (RSNF) was held from 23 – 25 May 2023 off Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
Participation:
INS Tarkash, INS Subhadra and Dornier Maritime Patrol aircraft (MPA) participated in the exercise from the Indian side. The RSNF was represented by HMS Badr and Abdul Aziz, MH 60R helo and UAV.
Key Points:
- The three-day exercise at sea witnessed a wide spectrum of maritime operations. The exercise culminated with debrief at sea followed by traditional steam past.
- The successful conduct of ‘Al Mohed Al Hindi 23’ showcased high degree of professionalism, interoperability and exchanges of best practices between the two navies.
- The bilateral exercise met all its objectives and both sides intend to graduate to more advanced level of exercises in the next edition.
» The inaugural edition of the exercise was successfully conducted in 2021.
Important Day
World Schizophrenia Awareness Day
⇒ World Schizophrenia Awareness Day is observed every year on 24 May.
- The Day is observed to raise awareness around the condition and educate people about the symptoms and treatment of Schizophrenia.
» Schizophrenia causes psychosis and is associated with considerable disability and may affect all areas of life including personal, family, social, educational, and occupational functioning. Stigma, discrimination, and violation of human rights of people with schizophrenia are common.
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), GoI commemorated Schizophrenia to raise awareness and to reduce stigma around mental illness. It lifts the lid on the challenges that thousands of people with Schizophrenia from all over the world have to encounter on a day-to-day basis.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia:
Schizophrenia is characterised by significant impairments in the way reality is perceived and changes in behaviour related to:
- Persistent delusions: the person has fixed beliefs that something is true, despite evidence to the contrary;
- Persistent hallucinations: the person may hear, smell, see, touch, or feel things that are not there;
- Experiences of influence, control or passivity: the experience that one’s feelings, impulses, actions, or thoughts are not generated by oneself, are being placed in one’s mind or withdrawn from one’s mind by others, or that one’s thoughts are being broadcast to others;
- Disorganized thinking, which is often observed as jumbled or irrelevant speech;
- Highly disorganised behaviour e.g. the person does things that appear bizarre or purposeless, or the person has unpredictable or inappropriate emotional responses that interfere with their ability to organise their behaviour;
- “Negative symptoms” such as very limited speech, restricted experience and expression of emotions, inability to experience interest or pleasure, and social withdrawal; and/or
- Extreme agitation or slowing of movements, maintenance of unusual postures.
» People with schizophrenia often also experience persistent difficulties with their cognitive or thinking skills, such as memory, attention, and problem-solving.
Causes of schizophrenia
- Research has not identified one single cause of schizophrenia. It is thought that an interaction between genes and a range of environmental factors may cause schizophrenia.
- Psychosocial factors may also affect the onset and course of schizophrenia. Heavy use of cannabis is associated with an elevated risk of the disorder.