NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Health
Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched new Logo for ‘Ayurveda Aahar’: The ‘Ayurveda Aahar’ logo was launched by Health Minister Mansukh
Mandaviya, on the occasion of World Food Safety Day. The Ayurveda Aahar Logo
will allow for easy identification. Thus, it will help in creating a unique
Identity of ‘Ayurveda Aahar’. The logo will also reinforce the quality of
Ayurvedic products. As per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI), Ayurveda Aahar is food prepared in line with the recipes or
ingredients or processes given in the authoritative books of Ayurveda.
About the
Ayurveda Aahar Logo: As per FSSAI, the design of Ayurveda Aahar logo
is such that it contains initial letters of words Ayurveda and Aahar in English
and Devanagari. In this logo, Hindi letter Aa, and English letter ‘A’ have been
merged in a way that they appear to be single form. It contains symbolic 5
leaves, that represents five elements namely; ether, water, air, fire, and
Earth. Green colour stands for natural, biotic, wholesome, organic and herbal.
2.
Himachal Pradesh becomes the first Indian state to approve a policy for drones: The Himachal Pradesh government gave nod to a drone policy as it seeks
to enable the use of drones and similar technology for different public
services in the hill state. The ‘Himachal Pradesh Drone Policy 2022’ was
approved by the chief minister Jai Ram Thakur. The policy envisions creating a
holistic drone ecosystem built upon the foundation of Governance and Reforms
Using Drones (GARUD). With this new drone policy, Himachal Pradesh has become
the first state in the country to formally acknowledge the public use of
drones.
About the
“Himachal Pradesh Drone Policy 2022”:
a) Himachal’s drone policy mainly focuses on creating drone-enabled
technology, creation of manpower through the establishment of training schools,
startup and innovation schemes, and more.
b) The policy aims to propagate the use of drone-enabled technology in
different sectors such as defence, transport, health, agriculture and more.
c) Delivery of medicines, medical equipment, and other essential supplies
will also commence with the help of drones in pandemic-affected and remote
areas.
Note: Himachal
Pradesh Capital: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter); Himachal Pradesh
Governor: Rajendra Arlekar; Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister: Jai Ram Thakur.
3. Assam
celebrates Baikho festival for good harvest and rain: The Baikho festival is celebrated in the state of Assam, which is
called as gateway to northeast India. It is celebrated by Rabha tribes of
India. The Baikho festival is celebrated annually. It is celebrated to bring in
auspicious harvest season and to fill it with abundant crops and good health.
This is a celebration of good harvest. It is an ancient tradition. It is
predominantly observed by Rabha Tribe. However, people from other communities
also harmonise in the celebrations. Festival celebration:
a) During this festival, various rituals are carried out for warding off
evil spirits, for bringing good will to community and sparking ample rains. In
the afternoon, people dress in traditional attire and dance to the drum beats.
b) In the evening, they set alight a tall structure made from bundles of
bamboo. After the sun sets, priests offer prayers to the God of harvest. After
the prayers priests run over hot coals, which are left simmering by the fire.
c) This act is meant to honour the harvest deity. Later, women wash the
feet of priests and serve them food. In another unique customs, Rabha Tribes
smear their faces with rice flour and pour rice beer for others.
Note: Assam
Capital: Dispur; Assam Chief Minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma; Assam Governor:
Jagadish Mukhi.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. BIMSTEC
celebrates its 25th anniversary: The
Secretariat of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Dhaka celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the
regional organisation on BIMSTEC Day. The evolution of BIMSTEC over the last 25
years from the signing of the Bangkok Declaration on June 6 in 1996, and
highlighted milestones such as the establishment of the Secretariat in Dhaka in
2014 and the signature of the BIMSTEC Charter during the Fifth Summit in
Colombo on March 30, 2022.
About the
BIMSTEC: It is an international organization of South Asia and Southeast Asian
countries. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand
are members of BIMSTEC. It was formed on 6 June 1997 and its headquarters is
located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
2.
Ramkrishna Mukkavilli becomes the first Indian to recognized by United Nations
Global Compact as Global SDG Pioneer: For the first time in the world, an Indian
(Ramkrishna Mukavilli) has been named a Global Sustainable Development Goal
(SDG) Pioneer for Water Stewardship by the United Nations Global Compact
(UNGC). The United Nations Global Compact has named ten new SDG Pioneers, who
are corporate leaders who are excelling in advancing the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) by implementing the UN Global Compact Ten Principles
on human rights, environment, labour, and anti-corruption.
Professionals working at any level in a
firm engaging in the UN Worldwide Compact were targeted for the global search,
with winners picked from every continent. Their work covers a wide range of
topics, including climate mitigation and adaptation, as well as circular
economy and digital transformation.
3.
Forbes Real Time Billionaires List: Mukesh Ambani topped as India’s richest
men:
Recently, Forbes Real Time Billionaires List was declared. It featured the list
of the richest person around the world. The chairman and managing director of
Reliance Industries Ltd, Mukesh Ambani and the chairperson of Adani Group,
Gautam Adani are also in the list of top 10 richest persons in the world. In
the “Bloomberg Billionaires Index”, Mukesh Ambani is in eighth spot, and Gautam
Adani is in ninth position. Elon Musk topped both the lists.
Forbes Real Time Billionaires List:
|
Rank |
Name |
Net worth |
Country |
Source |
|
1 |
Elon Musk |
$219.4 B |
United States |
Tesla, SpaceX |
|
2 |
Bernard Arnault &
Family |
$156.5 B |
France |
LVMH |
|
3 |
Jeff Bezos |
$150.5 B |
United States |
Amazon |
|
4 |
Bill Gates |
$128.1 B |
United States |
Microsoft |
|
5 |
Warren Buffett |
$112.8 B |
United States |
Berkshire Hathaway |
|
6 |
Mukesh Ambani |
$103.2 B |
India |
Diversified |
|
7 |
Gautam Adani &
family |
$101.0 B |
India |
Infrastructure,
commodities |
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Mithali Raj announced retirement from International cricket: Indian women’s
cricket team captain, Mithali Raj (39 years old), hailing from Jodhpur,
Rajasthan, announced her retirement from all forms of International cricket.
Previously in September 2019, she retired from twenty 20 International (T20Is)
but continued to play One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Test cricket.
Career overview:
a)
Mithali
Raj made her International debut in the ODI against Ireland at Milton Keynes in
1999.
b)
She
has represented India in around 232 ODI matches and scored 7805 runs (50.68 on
average). She is the only female cricketer to reach the 7,000-run mark. She
holds the record for most runs in Women’s ODI.
c)
She
has played 12 Test Matches for India scoring 699 runs and 89 T20Is scoring
2,364 runs.
d)
She
has scored a tally of 10,868 runs across all three formats and became the
“leading run-scorer of all-time in women’s international cricket”.
2.
Virat Kohli Becomes the 1st Indian to Reach 200 Million Followers on Instagram: Indian cricket
star Virat Kohli has crossed the 200 million followers mark on the social media
site Instagram. With this, he became the first Indian to have 200 million
followers on Instagram. Kohli is also the third most followed sportsperson on
Instagram. Portugal football star Cristiano Ronaldo tops the chart with 451 million
followers, ahead of Argentina football captain and FC Barcelona legend Lionel
Messi with 334 million followers.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
SEBI Advisory Committee on Mutual Funds restructured: SEBI, the market
regulator, has revamped its mutual fund advisory committee. According to the
latest update with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the
25-member advisory council will be chaired by Usha Thorat, a former Deputy
Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Previously, the panel consisted of
24 people. The committee’s mission is to advise the Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) on problems relating to mutual fund regulation and
development. It can also advise the regulator on disclosure requirements and
steps necessary for a change in the legal framework to bring mutual fund laws
closer to simplification and transparency.
Members in the Advisory Committee:
a)
Neeraj
Choksi, Chairman of NJ India Invest, has been appointed to the advisory council
by the regulator.
b)
Sunil
Gulati, Independent Trustee at SBI Mutual Fund, and Dharmishta Narendraprasad
Raval, Independent Trustee at DSP Mutual Fund, are among the other members.
c)
Prathit
D Bhobe, MD and CEO of Tata Asset Management, Vinay Tonse, MD and CEO of SBI
Funds Management, Swarup Mohanty, CEO of Mirae Asset Investment Managers
(India), MD and CEO of Sundaram Asset Management Company.
d)
The
panel also includes Sunil Subramaniam, Navin Agarwal, MD and CEO of Motilal
Oswal Asset Management Company, and A Balasubramanian, Chairman of the
Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
e)
The
committee also includes officials from the BSE, NSE, Computer Age Management
Services (CAMS), KFin Technologies, as well as the finance ministry and Sebi.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
OECD slashes India’s GDP growth forecast to 6.9% for FY23: The Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has forecast India’s GDP
growth at 6.9 per cent for FY23. This is 120 basis points lower than the 8.1
per cent projection made in December. The lowest by a major bank or
institution, saying the country had been adversely affected by Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine. This is below the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate of a
7.2% rise. India’s Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 8.7% in 2021-22, making it
the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
2.
Maruti Suzuki installed Asia’s largest 20 MWp solar plant at Manesar: Maruti Suzuki
India has installed a 20 MW solar carport at its Manesar, Haryana, site. The
project is projected to provide the organisation with 28,000 MWh of electricity
per year. According to the firm, the energy generated by this initiative will
be similar to the energy required to create nearly 67,000 cars every year. This
is Asia’s largest solar carport, according to the business.
Key Points:
a)
Using
the East-West orientation approach, the solar carport is constructed with the
smallest area per unit of electricity generation.
b)
The
East-West approach allows developers to add more rows and panels, increasing
generation capacity while using less space.
c)
Approximately
9,000 finished vehicles can be parked at the site.
d)
Companies
are focused on making the most of available space in order to save money on
energy and meet sustainability goals.
e)
Solar
carports are an excellent way to turn an otherwise unused space into a source
of renewable energy. Carports have the added benefit of providing covered
parking spots in addition to generating solar energy. They are more visible
than traditional rooftop solar panels and assist businesses in incorporating
climate mitigation.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. WHO
award for PGI Chandigarh centre for tobacco control: The World Health Organisation has awarded the Resource Centre for
Tobacco Control (e-RCTC) of the Department of Community Medicine and School of
Public Health at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
(PGIMER) in Chandigarh with the Regional Director Special Recognition Award.
The Resource Centre for Tobacco Control provides information related to tobacco
control in India, including circulars and orders, policies and legislations,
multidisciplinary publications. Key points:
a) Besides being a resource hub, the centre has achieved heights in
capacity building by organising more than 50 workshops and webinars for around
3,500 program managers and academicians.
b) The Resource Center for Tobacco Control, a joint initiative of the
PGIMER and the UNION-SEA, was set up in 2018 by 25 organisations working over
tobacco control in India with an aim to showcase tobacco control initiatives.
c) The portal has attracted 4.2 lakh visitors from 100 countries in three years, said Rajeev Kumar, Project Coordinator, e-RCTC.
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