ART AND CULTURE                                                                           

1. Kung Fu Nuns                                                                                                    

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE                                                             

1. Skills Build platform                                                                                            

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS                                                          

1. 5th Global Exhibition on Services (GES)                                                            

2. 19th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation                                                                                       

3. Act against cross-border insurgents, Modi tells Suu Kyi                                    

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY                                                      

1. Annual fishing ban to protect Olive Ridleys in Gahiramatha Marine Sanctuary 

2. ‘Visibly elusive’ Bengal tree frog gets recorded as new species                        

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY                                                          

1. Mission Innovation (MI) Face-to-Face Meeting of Innovation Challenges         

SECURITY                                                                                           

1. Indian Army to have first Dhanush regiment by March 2020                           

ART AND CULTURE

Kung Fu Nuns

GS PAPER - 01 ART AND CULTURE - Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Context :

• Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture meets the Kung Fu Nuns of the Drukpa Order at New Delhi.

More in the news :

• The Kung Fu Nuns received the Game Changer Award from Asia Society for their heroic human rights activism.

• The nuns received the award in New York for their path-breaking work to empower women and dismantle gender stereotypes in the Himalayas.           

                                                                                                                              Source :- PIB

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

Skills Build platform

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context :

• The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship launched the Skills Build platform in collaboration with IBM.

Skills Build platform:

• The Directorate General of Training (DGT), under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has launched the platform.

• As part of the programme, a two-year advanced diploma in IT, networking and cloud computing, co-created and designed by IBM, will be offered at the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) & National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).

• The platform will be extended to train ITI & NSTI faculty on building skills in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Significance :

• The digital platform will provide a personal assessment of the cognitive capabilities and personality via MyInnerGenius to the students.

• They will then learn foundational knowledge about digital technologies, as well as professional skills such as resume-writing, problem solving and communication.

• Students will also receive recommendations on role-based education for specific jobs that include technical and professional learning.

• This initiative is part of IBM’s global commitment to create a job-ready workforce and to build the next generation of skills needed for new collar careers.

                                                                                                                                                            Source :- PIB

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

5th Global Exhibition on Services (GES)

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

Context :

• The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry launched the curtain raiser of the 5th Global Exhibition on Services (GES).

GES 2019:

• The GES is organised by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce in partnership with the Services Export Promotion Council and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

• The four-day event will be held in Bangalore.

• The GES is an annual event that seeks to enhance strategic cooperation and develop synergies to strengthen multilateral relationships between all stakeholders, tap the potential for services’ exports and increase FDI inflow           

Objective :

• Increasing trade in services

• Enhancing strategic cooperation

• Strengthening relationships among stakeholders

• This initiative will enhance the competitiveness of India’s service sectors through the implementation of focused and monitored Action Plans.

• These sectors include some of the largest and most critical sectors with the highest potential for global trade and investment, growth and employment.

• The objective is to give focused attention to the following 12 identified Champion Services Sectors for promoting their development and realizing their potential:

  • Accounting & Finance

  • IT & ITES

  • Infrastructure & Construction

  • Transport & Logistics

  • Communications

  • Education

  • Media and entertainment

  • Health and wellness

  • Legal

  • Banking, finance and insurance

  • Tourism and hospitality

  • Environment

                                                                                                                                  Source :- PIB

19th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

• The Defence Minister will co-chair the 19th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) in Moscow.

Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) :

• The IRIGC-M&MTC (sometimes referred to as IRIGC-MTC), was set up in 2000.

• The two Defence Ministers meet annually, alternately in Russia and India, to discuss and review the status of ongoing projects and other issues of military-technical cooperation.

• There are two Working Groups and seven Sub-Groups under the IRIGC-MTC, which review and discuss an array of military-technical issues.

• In 2008, a high level committee called the High Level Monitoring Committee (HLMC) was set up with Defence Secretary from the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of India and Director of Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) from the Russian Federation as its co-chairs.

• Bilateral projects currently underway include indigenous production of T-90 tanks and Su-30-MKI aircraft, supply of MiG-29-K aircraft and Kamov-31 and Mi-17 helicopters, upgrade of MiG-29 aircraft and supply of Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher Smerch.

• Over the years, cooperation in the military-technical sphere has evolved from a purely buyer-seller relationship to joint research, design development and production of state of the art military platforms. Production of the Brahmos cruise missile is an example of this trend.

• The two countries are also engaged in joint design and development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft and Multi-Role Transport Aircraft.

                                                                                                                                              Source ;- AIR ; The Hindu

Act against cross-border insurgents, Modi tells Suu Kyi

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - India and its neighborhood- relations.

Context :

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has conveyed to Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi about the importance India attaches to her country’s cooperation in ensuring that insurgent groups do not find space to operate across the India-Myanmar border.

More in the news:

• The Prime Minister has informed her of India’s readiness to expand its socio-economic projects in Rakhine. Earlier, New Delhi had implemented a housing project in the restive province.

• He emphasised the priority India attached to Myanmar as a partner at the crossroads of India’s Look East and Neighbourhood First policies.

• He made the proposal at a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.

• The two leaders also agreed that a stable and peaceful border was an important anchor for the continued expansion of bilateral partnership.

• PM also emphasised that the speedy, safe and sustainable return of the displaced people from Bangladesh to their homes in the Rakhine State was in the interests of the region.

Background :

• Myanmar is one of India’s strategic neighbours and shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of north-eastern states including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.

• According to security agencies, there were over 50 camps of insurgent groups from the north-east in Myanmar till last year.

• The armies of India and Myanmar carried out a three-week-long coordinated operation from May 2019 in their respective border areas, targeting several militant groups operating in Manipur, Nagaland and Assam.

• During the “Operation Sunrise 2″, the armies coordinated with each other to bust camps of militant outfits.

• In June 2015, the Indian Army had carried out an operation against NSCN(K) militants in areas near the Indo-Myanmar border, days after militants killed 18 army men in Manipur.

• Recently, India handed over to Myanmar government 250 prefabricated houses, it built in the Rakhine State in an effort to encourage the Rohingya Muslims to return to their homeland.

                                                                                                                                                        Source :- The Hindu

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

Annual fishing ban to protect Olive Ridleys in Gahiramatha Marine Sanctuary

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

•  Odisha forest department has put a ban on fishing in Gahiramatha Marine Sanctuary.

Olive Ridley Turtles :

• The Olive Ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles in the world.

• They inhabit in the warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.

• It is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List. Further, it has been listed on Schedule – I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

• The Olive Ridley turtles are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada. During Arribada, a large number of female turtles come together on the same beach to lay eggs.

• An important breeding area for olive Ridleys in the Indian Ocean along the Bay of Bengal is Odisha. There are three major mass nesting areas:

  • Gahirmatha rookery (Gahiramatha Marine Sanctuary) close to the mouth of Brahmani-Baitarani Rivers,

  • Devi river mouth and

  • Rushikulya river mouth

• The major threats to Olive Ridley turtles are:

  • poor fishing practices,

  • development and exploitation of nesting beaches for ports, and tourist centres,

  • Poaching for their meat, shell and leather.

Steps taken to Protect :

• The Indian Coast Guard also undertakes “Operation Olivia” every year. It is an Olive Ridley Turtle protection program.           

                                                                                                               Source :- Down To Earth

‘Visibly elusive’ Bengal tree frog gets recorded as new species

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• Herpetologists have discovered a new species of tree frog from West Bengal. It has been named Brown Blotched Bengal Tree Frog (Polypedates bengalensis).

Brown Blotched Bengal Tree Frog:

• Brown Blotched Bengal Tree Frog or Polypedates bengalensis frog was found in two places in West Bengal – Badu, North 24 Parganas District and Khordanahala, South 24 Parganas District.

• Polypedates are found throughout South and Southeast Asia

• It belongs to the genus Polypedates. There are 25 other Polypedates species round the world. Polypedates bengalensis is the 26th.

• The frog’s body colour is yellowish-brown to greenish-brown.

                                                                                                                        Source :- The Hindu

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Mission Innovation (MI) Face-to-Face Meeting of Innovation Challenges

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context :

• The Union Minister of Science & Technology inaugurated the Mission Innovation (MI) Face to Face meeting of Innovation Challenges (IC).

Mission Innovation (MI) Face to Face meeting of Innovation Challenges (IC):

• The objective

  •  To take stock of the deliverables by MI and its plans until 2020.

  • to identify major gap areas in Clean Energy Innovation and how to address these beyond 2020 to make MI more impactful.

 Mission Innovation : 

• Mission Innovation was announced on November 30, 2015 due to pioneering efforts by India, France and the USA, as world leaders came together in Paris to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate changes.

• Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 24 countries and the European Union to dramatically accelerate global clean energy innovation.

• As part of the initiative, participating countries have committed to double their governments’ clean energy research and development (R&D) investments over five years, while encouraging greater levels of private sector investment in transformative clean energy technologies.

• Mission Innovation has identified eight Innovation Challenges which are global calls to action aimed at accelerating research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) in technology areas where increased international attention would make a significant impact in shared fight against climate change.

• The Innovation Challenges cover the entire spectrum of RD&D; from early stage research needs assessments to technology demonstration projects. India is also co-leading Smart Grids, Off Grids and Sustainable Biofuels Innovation and is actively participating in all ICs and other activities of MI.

• These challenges taken up under Analysis and Joint Research and co-led by India and Canada include:

  • Smart Grids

  • Off-Grid Access to Electricity

  • Carbon Capture

  • Sustainable Biofuels

  • Converting Sunlight

  • Clean Energy Materials and

  • Affordable Heating and Cooling of Buildings Innovation Challenge

                                                                                                                                                                    Source :- PIB

SECURITY

Indian Army to have first Dhanush regiment by March 2020

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate

Context :

• The Army, which began inducting the indigenously upgraded Dhanush artillery guns, will have the first regiment in place by March 2020 and will get all 114 guns by 2022. Dhanush is the indigenously upgraded variant of the Swedish Bofors gun imported in the 1980s.

Dhanush Artillery Guns :

• Dhanush is the first indigenous long-range artillery gun.

• It has been developed by Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Kolkata and manufactured by the Jabalpur-based Gun Carriage Factory.

• The design of Dhanush is based on the Swedish Bofors Haubits FH77 which India imported in the 1980s.

• Dhanush gun was officially inducted in Indian Army in April 2019.

Key features :

• It has a caliber of 155mm x 45mm.

• It has a range of 36km and has demonstrated a range of 38 km with specialised ammunition.

• The gun is fitted with an inertial navigation system having global positioning system (GPS)-based gun recording and auto-laying, and an enhanced tactical computer for on-board ballistic computations.

• It also has an on-board muzzle velocity recording, an automated gun sighting system equipped with camera, thermal imaging, and laser range finder.

Significance :

                                                                                                                         Source :- The Hindu

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