NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Arjun Ram Meghwal inaugurated Sahitya Akademi Book
Fair: Union Minister of State for Culture, Arjun Ram Meghwal has
inaugurated the Sahitya Akademi
Book Fair in New Delhi. The Sahitya Akademi Book Fair will continue till
9th of this month and feature a host of cultural programs and rendezvous with
prominent writers. The Minister said that books played an important role in
nation-building and the constitution makers were all voracious readers. He
added that the decision to put equality before liberty as a fundamental right
in the constitution was due to a greater understanding of the society achieved
from reading various constitutions and important books.
2. Bihar government launched “Mission Daksh” to minimize
school dropout: Bihar
government has launched its ambitious
scheme to minimize school dropout. The scheme, called Mission Daksh (Dynamic Approach for Knowledge
and Skill) aims at offering special Hindi, Mathematics, and English
classes to weak students of classes 3-8 across the state. A teacher will teach
only five students, who cannot read and write Hindi and English fluently and
are not good at basic Mathematics. Daksh classes were run successfully between
3.30 pm and 4.15 pm in over 60,000-plus schools across the state. An estimated
five lakh teachers taught over 25 lakh students.
3. Narayan Sheshadri appointed as
IDRCL chairman: Former
KPMG managing partner Narayan Seshadri has been appointed
as chairman of the India Debt
Resolution Co Ltd (IDRCL). IDRCL chairman Diwakar Gupta resigned to take
up a post at parent National Asset Reconstruction Co Ltd (NARCL). NARCL and
IDRCL aim to address the mounting problem of bad loans and non-performing
assets (NPAs) in the Indian banking sector. Seshadri, a chartered accountant,
is a financial sector veteran with experience in buying and turning around
distressed companies. He is currently an independent director in the company
and will take over immediately.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. The International Day of Persons with Disabilities
being observed today: The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is
commemorated every year on 3rd
December to spread awareness and mobilize support for the rights
and well-being of people with disabilities globally. This year’s theme is “United in action to rescue and achieve the
Sustainable Development Goals for, with, and by persons with disabilities”.
2. World’s first portable hospital ‘Aarogya Maitri Aid
Cube’ unveiled in Gurugram: The World’s first portable hospital, ‘Aarogya
Maitri Aid Cube’ was unveiled in Designed indigenously under the
Project ‘BHISHM’, the modular trauma management and aid system is made up of 72
detachable mini-cubes, each being a specialized station for emergency response
and humanitarian efforts. It can handle bullet injuries, burns, head, spinal
and chest injuries, minor surgeries, fractures and major bleeding. It can treat
as many as 200 patients. These cubes are light and portable, and can be rapidly
deployed anywhere, from airdrops to ground transportation.
3. Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia becomes 8th wonder of
the world: Angkor
Wat temple, located in the northern
province of Siem Reap in Cambodia has become the eighth Wonder of the World. The
unofficial title Eighth Wonder of the World is sometimes given to buildings,
structures, projects, designs, or even people who are thought to be comparable
to the seven Wonders of the World.
4. India re-elected to International Maritime
Organization: India was re-elected to the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council with the highest tally and
the term of council will be for the biennium 2024-25. India’s re-election falls
under the category of 10 states with “the largest interest in international
seaborne trade”, alongside Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the
Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The highest
votes are indicative of the government’s determination to strengthen India’s
varied contributions to international maritime operations. The council is the
executive organ of IMO and is responsible, under the assembly, for supervising
the work of the organization.
5. 2 December – World Computer Literacy Day: The World Computer
Literacy Day is marked annually on
December 2. It is observed to celebrate the advancements in computer
technology and promote digital literacy, especially amongst marginalized
communities. The theme for 2023 is believed to be: Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for
sustainable and peaceful societies. World Computer Literacy Day was
started in 2001 by NIIT Limited (National Institute of Information Technology),
an Indian multinational skills and talent development corporation. The company
was then dedicated to the cause of educating more women and children by
providing them with computer literacy skills. Since its inception in 1981, NIIT
has spread to over 30 countries. Rajendra Singh Pawar and Vijay K. Thadani, the
founder of NIIT launched World Computer Literacy Day.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. West Indies’ Dowrich announces retirement from
cricket: Former West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich (32-year) has retired from international cricket. He
played in 35 tests, scoring 1570 runs with a high score of 125 not out against
Sri Lanka in 2018. Dowrich made his Test debut against Australia in 2015 and
went on to play 35 Tests. His only ODI came against Bangladesh in 2019, and he
was set to add to it in the upcoming ODI series against England. His last
outing for the West Indies was against New Zealand in December 2020. The
32-year-old played 35 Tests, scoring 1570 runs with the best of 125 not out
against Sri Lanka. As a wicketkeeper, he also recorded 85 catches and five
stumpings.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. ISRO to launch ‘XPoSat’ Satellite: The Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO) is all set to launch its first X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite
(XPoSat); the mission aims to explore the polarization of powerful X-ray
sources. The primary payload Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays (POLIX) developed
by Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru (RRI). According to ISRO, while
space-based X-Ray astronomy has been established in India, focusing
predominantly on imaging, time-domain studies, and spectroscopy, the upcoming
XPoSat mission marks a major value addition. This research, supplementing
traditional time and frequency domain studies, introduces a novel dimension to
X-Ray astronomy, generating anticipation and excitement within the scientific
community. The XPoSat spacecraft is designated for observation from Low Earth
Orbit (non-sun synchronous orbit of ~650 km altitude, low inclination of
approximately six degree), carrying two scientific payloads. With these two
payloads, the XPoSat mission is capable of simultaneous studies of temporal,
spectral, and polarization features of the bright X-Ray sources.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank partners Water.org to offer
sanitation loan: Ujjivan Small Finance
Bank has partnered with Water.org, a global non-profit
organisation that helps people get access to safe water and sanitation
through affordable financing, such as small loans. Under the partnership,
Water.org will assist Ujjivan SFB in identifying areas that require financing
for clean water and hygienic sanitation. org will provide technical assistance,
market assessment, development of Information, Education and Communication
(IEC) material, monitoring and evaluation support. To support the cause,
Ujjivan SFB will be offering loans to existing as well as new customers
starting from Rs 6,000 up to Rs 1,00,000 to enable them to construct and/or
renovate water and sanitation facilities.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Ranveer Singh honoured by Sharon Stone at Red Sea Film Festival: Ranveer Singh was honoured by Sharon Stone at the Red Sea International Film Festival. The festival was held in Jeddah. Ranveer received the honour for his contributions towards cinema. Alongside him, actor Diane Kruger and actor-writer Abdullah Al-Sadhan will be honoured as well.
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