NATIONAL NEWS

42nd Edition of India International Trade Fair 2023

· The 42nd edition of the India International Trade Fair -2023 was inaugurated at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

· The fair will continue till 27  November.

·  Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel inaugurated the Trade Fair.

· The 42nd edition of the India International Trade Fair will facilitate trade and investment which will further promote economic growth and development of the country.

· India is the most attractive destination for investment and the country is set to become the 3rd largest economy in the coming times.

· The fair will remain meaningful in creating awareness of various social issues and in providing impetus to business transactions, joint ventures, and investment opportunities in the country.

· The theme of the fourteen-day fair is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which emphasizes the significance of interconnectedness and cooperation in trade for achieving sustainable growth and well-being.

Prime Minister Inaugurates Viksit Bharat Yatra from Khunti

· Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released the 15th instalment of over Rs 18,000 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme from Khunti, Jharkhand.

· This significant release aims to provide financial support to farmers across the country.

· The instalment was released on the birthday of the ‘father of the land’ Shri Bhagwan Birsa Munda, which is celebrated as the JanJaatiya Gaurav Divas every year.

· On the occasion, PM Modi launched the PM Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan, an initiative with a budget of Rs 24,000 crore, aimed at ensuring holistic development of tribal groups.

· On the foundation day of Jharkhand, Shri Modi also laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple development projects in Jharkhand worth Rs 7200 crores in multiple sectors like rail, road, Education, Coal, Petroleum and Natural Gas.

       

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

33rd Conference of WOAH Regional Commission

· The 33rd Conference of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Regional Commission for Asia and Pacific started in New Delhi.

· Delegates from 36 countries are participating in the conference.

· Senior officers from regional and international organizations and representatives from the private sector and private veterinary organizations are participating in the conference.

· It is scheduled to be organized from November 13 to 16, 2023.

· As per the World Organisation for Animal Health, 69 % of the human infections originate from the animals.

· MoS Dr L Murugan said that the Fisheries sector is playing a major role in the social economic as well as the nutritional requirement of protein.

· This contributes to 1% of the national GDP and 5.37 % of Agri GDP.

· This has increased demand in the fields of food safety, public health, animal welfare and antimicrobial resistance.

· The Government of India is also implementing a livestock health and disease control programme under the One Health Approach.

9th India International Science Festival IISF

· The 9th India International Science Festival (IISF) 2023 will be held at Faridabad, Haryana, from January 17 to January 20, 2024.

· This event was organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Earth Sciences in collaboration with Vijnana Bharati under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

· The 9th India International Science Festival (IISF) 2023 is India's biggest Science Fair.

· It will be conducted in Faridabad at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) Campus and the Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB) of the Department of Biotechnology.

· Theme for the event 'Science and Technology Public Outreach in Amrit Kaal'.

· IISF 2023 will have 17 different subjects to exhibit scientific breakthroughs that will benefit both participants and the broader public.

· The India International Science Festival (IISF) promotes creativity in science, technology, and innovation for the progress of a thriving India.

       

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

India Ranked 117th in the Inclusiveness Index

· India is ranked 117th in the list of 129 countries in the world in the inclusiveness index published by the Othering and Belonging Institute (OBI) at California University, United States.

· Smaller countries like Bangladesh (106) and Israel (115) were placed better than India.

· The index examines inclusivity in terms of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and the general population using several measures.

· India was ranked last (129) in religion inclusiveness, 121st in gender, 108th in disability, 87th in race, 40th in the general population, and 39th in LGBTQ.

· New Zealand finished first in the index for the second consecutive year.

· Portugal recorded its best showing by securing second place (up from 5th place in 2022) followed by the Netherlands in the third place.

· Iran was placed at the bottom of the global list.

· OBI has been publishing the inclusiveness index from 2016 ranking the countries by their levels of inclusion using a number of indicators.

· This year for the first time, OBI included an indicator for a country’s response to the climate crisis by considering its change in greenhouse gas emissions.

India To Become The Second Largest Solar Module Manufacturer

· In its latest report, Wood Mackenzie has forecasted that India will overtake Southeast Asia as the second-largest module production region by 2025.

· It added India and the US have announced over 200 gigawatts (GW) of planned module capacity since 2022.

· Earlier, ICRA said India’s solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturing capacity to increase to more than 60 GW by 2025 from the current level of around 37 GW.

· The International Energy Agency (IEA) in a report last month said that India’s domestic production capacity can surpass 70 GW by 2027.

· According to the IEA, solar manufacturing currently is concentrated in five countries accounting for more than 90% of global capacity.

· These five countries are China (80% of the global market), Vietnam, (5%), India (3%), Malaysia (3%) and Thailand (2%).

· India accounts for 3% of the global solar manufacturing market.

· Wood Mackenzie is a global consultancy firm for renewables, energy and natural resources.

 

AWARDS & PRIZES

Lifetime Disturbing Peace Award

· Famous writer Salman Rushdie, a British citizen of Indian origin, was given the first Lifetime Disturbing the Peace Award presented by the Vaclav Havel Center in Manhattan, New York.

· At the age of 76, Salman Rushdie found himself receiving yet another accolade from the German book trade's Peace Prize, reflecting the irony of being honored for "disturbing the peace."

· The 'Disturbing the Peace Award to a Courageous Writer at Risk' was presented to Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel-Fatah.

· Despite being imprisoned, Abdel-Fatah remains a symbol of resistance against Egypt's authoritarian regime.

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) Launch

· NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2024.

· NISAR will be launched on the ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-II from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

· NISAR, according to ISRO, is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory being constructed in collaboration with NASA.

· NISAR was created by US and Indian space agencies under a collaboration agreement concluded in 2014.

· In January 2024, it will be launched into a near-polar orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

· The satellite is expected to be operating for at least three years.

· The three-year mission will examine all of Earth's land and ice-covered areas every 12 days.

· This will begin following a 90-day satellite commissioning period.

Samsung Introduces its Generative AI Model

· Samsung has unveiled its first generative AI model, named 'Samsung Gauss,' at the Samsung AI Forum 2023.

· Samsung Gauss is a large language model designed to understand human language, answer questions, generate text and images, assist in writing and editing emails, and summarize documents.

· It is also positioned as a coding assistant.

· Samsung Gauss is developed by Samsung Research, the tech giant’s research arm, parts of Samsung Gauss can run locally on devices like smartphones and tablets.

· Samsung Gauss comprises three main tools: Samsung Gauss Language, Samsung Gauss Code, and Samsung Gauss Image.

· Samsung Gauss Language is capable of understanding human language and answering queries similar to ChatGPT.  

 

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day for Tolerance

· International Day for Tolerance 2023 is observed on 16 November 2023.

· In 1993, at the initiative of UNESCO, the United Nations proclaimed 1995 as “The Year for Tolerance”.

· UNESCO’s 1995 Declaration of Principles on Tolerance was that tolerance is respect, acceptance, and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression, and our ways of being human.

· The United Nations General Assembly decided to celebrate International Day for Tolerance every year.

· One year later in 1996, the UN General Assembly decided 16 November was the International Day for Tolerance and it would be celebrated every year.

· The Common Theme is “Tolerance is respect, acceptance, and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, forms of expression, and ways of being human”.