DAILY GK 12-13 JAN
1.
INDIAN
CITIES IN INTERNATIONAL
WETLAND CITY ACCREDITATION
·
Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has nominated three
Indian cities viz. Indore and Bhopal in
Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Udaipur in Rajasthan for
the Wetland City Accreditation (WCA) scheme under the Ramsar Convention.
·
These are the 1st three
Indian cities to be nominated for WCA.The WCA is a voluntary accreditation
system established by the Ramsar Convention during the Conference of the
Contracting Parties (COP) 12, 2015 Accredited cities: The
convention has recognised 18 cities during COP13 and 25 cities during
COP14. These 43 cities includes 13 from China and 6 from France.
·
Ramsar Convention
(Convention on Wetlands of International Importance) is an intergovernmental
treaty adopted on February 2, 1971, in the city of Ramsar, on the shores of the
Caspian Sea, in Iran.
·
It provides a framework
for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and their resources across
its 172-member countries including India.
·
At
present, 75 wetlands in India are protected under the treaty.
·
Headquarters– Gland, Switzerland.
2.
INDIAN
NAVY’S P-8I PARTICIPATES IN EXERCISE SEA DRAGON 24 AT GUAM, USA
·
The Indian Navy’s
(IN) P8I aircraft participate in the on-going 4th edition of
the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) ‘Exercise Sea Dragon 24’ at
Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, United States of America (USA).
·
Sea Dragon is an
annual, multinational ASW exercise for Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MR)
ASW aircraft conducted by the US Navy.
·
Participants:
Six countries that are
participating in the exercise are India, USA, Australia, Japan, Canada, and the
Republic of Korea (South Korea).
·
US Navy P-8A Poseidon,
Republic of Korea Navy P-3CK Orion, Royal Canadian Air Force’s CP-140 and Japan
Maritime Self-Defense Force Kawasaki P-1 aircraft are also participating in the
exercise.
3.
4TH SG OF
BIMSTEC
·
Ambassador Indra
Mani Pandey took charge as the 4th Secretary General (SG) of
the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC).
·
With this, Pandey
becomes the first Indian to hold the post. He will remain SG
for a period of 3 years.
·
He succeeds Tenzin
Lekphell of Bhutan, who served as the 3rd SG of BIMSTEC from 6
November 2020 to 5 November 2023.
·
BIMSTEC,
a regional organisation, was established as
BIST-EC (Bangladesh-India-Sri
Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation) on 6th June 1997 with the signing of Bangkok Declaration.
·
It is Renamed as
BIMSTEC on 22nd December 1997 after the admission of Myanmar.
·
Current Members: Bangladesh; Bhutan; India; Myanmar; Nepal;
Sri Lanka and Thailand.
·
Secretary General–
Indra Mani Pandey
·
Headquarters–
Dhaka, Bangladesh
4.
BOOK ‘MODI:
ENERGISING A GREEN FUTURE’
·
The Union
Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
(MoEF&CC) unveiled a book titled
“Modi Energising A Green Future”, published by Pentagon Press in
association with Dr.Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation.
·
The book analyzes PM Narendra Modi’s environmental
leadership, highlighting India’s
ambitious contributions to a sustainable and eco-friendly future.
·
The book was
edited by RK Pachnanda, former chairman of the Haryana Electricity
Regulatory Commission, Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Economic
Advisory Council to the Prime Minister(PM), Anirban Ganguly,
and Uttam Kumar Sinha.
5.
PUNJAB
BECOMES 1ST STATE TO MAP ALL ACCIDENT-PRONE SITES IN MAPPLS
·
Punjab has
become the first state in India to map all 784
accident black spots on the mobile application “Mappls”, a navigation
system developed by C. E. Info Systems Limited(MapmyIndia).
·
Punjab Police collaborated
with MapmyIndia for real-time traffic updates and alerts on
the Mappls App about Black and Blind spots.
·
Mappls mobile app will
provide voice alerts (in Punjabi language) to the commuters
about the upcoming black spots.
·
This initiative is
a part of the preparations for the launch of the flagship project
the ‘Sadak Suraksha Force’ of the Government of Punjab.
6.
HENLEY
PASSPORT INDEX 2024
·
According to the The
Henley Passport Index 2024 Global Ranking released by Henley and Partners, Indian passport is ranked 80th by
providing visa-free or visas on arrival access to 62 countries.
·
India shares the 80th
rank with Uzbekistan.Previously in 2023, India was ranked 83rd and provided
visa free entry to 58 countries.
·
The top spot is grabbed
by 6 countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and
Spain with citizens enjoying visa-free access to 194 travel
destinations.
·
Japan and Singapore
have consistently held the top spot for the past five years.
·
The world’s weakest
passports globally is of Afghanistan at 104th rank with access to 28 nations
only.
7.
INDIA RANKS
2ND IN MSCI EM INDEX; CHINA TOPS
·
India has secured a 2nd
rank in the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM)
index by surpassing Taiwan.
·
The first spot is
grabbed by China.
·
India’s share in MSCI
Emerging Markets index saw an increase in over eight years from 7% to 17.1% and
is projected to rise further to 20% by early 2024.
·
In 1988, MSCI
Inc., formerly Morgan Stanley Capital International launched the MSCI Emerging
Markets Index which is one of the first investable benchmark index global
equity markets in the space.
8.
INDIA AND
U.K. SIGNED LOA AND MOU FOR DEFENCE COLLABORATION IN R&D
·
Union Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh made a two day visit to the United Kingdom (U.K) in January 2024
and held the bilateral meeting with his British Counterpart Grant Shapps.
·
A Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) was signed between India and U.K. on conduct of bilateral
international cadet exchange programme.
·
Letter of Arrangement
was signed between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India
and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), U.K.
on defence collaboration in Research and Development (R&D).
9.
IIT MADRAS
TO ESTABLISH NEW CAMPUS IN KANDY, SRI LANKA
·
The Indian
Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu is set
to start a new campus of its Tech university in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 2024.
·
In January 2024,
officials of the IIT-Madras will visit Sri Lanka to begin the process of
setting up a branch of its campus in Sri Lanka.
10.
TENZING NORGAY
NATIONAL ADVENTURE AWARD 2022
·
Droupadi Murmu, President
of India, honoured the Four winners of Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award
(TNNAA) 2022 during the Sports and Adventure Award 2023 event held in
RashtrapatiBhavan, New Delhi, Delhi.
·
The 4 winners of TNNAA
2022 are: Savita Kanswal (posthumous) for Land Adventure, Praveen Singh for Lifetime Achievement, Tulsi Chaitanya Mothukuri for Water Adventure, and Anshu Kumar Tiwari for Air Adventure.
·
TNNAA award honours the
achievements of individuals in adventure sports.
·
Late Savita Kanswal was
the 1st Indian female mountaineer to
summit 2 8000 meters peaks (Mount Everest at a height of 8,848 metres and Mount
Makalu at a height of 8,484 metres) in 16 days.
·
Tulsi
Chaitanya Mothukuri is the 1st Indian police officer
to achieve the triple crown of the open
water swimming.
·
Anshu Kumar Tiwari has completed 2214 hrs of flying including 250 hrs in night for skydiving, training and
dispatching.
·
Pravin Singh has scaled more than 20 himalayan peaks
including Mt Everest twice and Mt
Kanchenjunga.
·
TNNAA is named after Tenzing Norgay, who was one of the first 2 people to reach the
8,849-meter summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.
·
Award
Value: The award
includes a bronze statuette, a certificate, a blazer with a silken tie/a saree,
and award money of Rs. 15 Lakh.
11.
FIFA
PRESIDENT GET INTERNATIONAL SPORTS PERSONALITY AWARD
·
Gianni Infantino, President of the
International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), received the Award for International Sports Personality for
2023 at the 12th annual Mohammed Bin
Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Awards held in Dubai, the United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
·
The award was
established in 2009 inspired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s passion
for sports.
12.
INDIAN NAVY
RECEIVED DRISHTI 10 STARLINER DRONE
·
The Indian Navy
received Drishti 10 Starliner (also known as Elbit Hermes 900), the 1st indigenously manufactured Medium
Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV),
manufactured at the Adani Defence and Aerospace(ADA) facility in Hyderabad,
Telangana.
·
The drone was
unveiled by Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief
of Naval Staff (CNS), Indian Navy, in Hyderabad, Telangana.
·
The Drishti 10
drones were produced by Adani Group in partnership with Israel’s Elbit Systems.
Around 70% of the drone has been indigenised.
·
It has 36 hours
endurance and 450 kg payload capacity
13.
NATIONAL
YOUTH DAY 2024- JANUARY 12
·
National Youth Day is
annually celebrated across India on 12 January to commemorate
the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda
·
12 January 2024 marks
the 161st birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
·
In 1984, the
Government of India (GoI) declared the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda
as National Youth Day to honour his teachings and ideals.
14.
PRITHvi
VIgyan (PRITHVI) SCHEME
·
The Union Cabinet
Chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the overarching
scheme “PRITHvi VIgyan (PRITHVI)” of Ministry of Earth Sciences, for
implementation during the period from 2021-26 at an overall cost of Rs. 4,797
crore.
·
Objective of scheme is
Augmentation and sustainance of long-term observations of the
atmosphere, ocean, geosphere, cryosphere and solid earth to record the
vital signs of the Earth System and change.
·
Development of
modelling systems for understanding
and predicting weather, ocean and climate hazards and understanding the science
of climate change.
·
Exploration polar and
high seas regions of the Earth
towards discovery of new phenomena and resources.
·
The scheme encompasses
five ongoing sub-schemes namely “Atmosphere & Climate
Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)”, “Ocean Services, Modelling Application, Resources
and Technology (O-SMART)”, “Polar
Science and Cryosphere Research (PACER)”,
“Seismology and Geosciences (SAGE)”
and “Research, Education, Training and Outreach (REACHOUT)”.
15.
SRIMUKHALINGAM TEMPLE
·
Recently, ASI assured
to send a note to UNESCO over the inclusion of the Srimukhalingam
temple in Andhra Pradesh in the World Heritage Structures’ list.
·
Srimukhalingam temple’s
chief priest Naidugari Rajasekhar says the architecture of the temple is
similar to Lingaraja temple located in Bhubaneswar of Odisha.
·
It is located on
the Vamsadhara River.
·
It is dedicated
to Lord Srimukha Lingeswara (a form of Shiva).
16.
INLAND WATERWAYS
DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
·
The maiden edition of the Inland
Waterways Development Council (IWDC) in Kolkata culminated recently.
·
The meet, chaired by
the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Shri
Sarbananda Sonowal was attended by key stakeholders including ministerial
representations from states as well as prominent stakeholders including policy
makers and industry leaders.
·
Inland Waterways
Development Council:-Established:1986.
·
Ministry: Ministry
of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
·
HQ: Noida,
UP.
17.
ATAL BIHARI
VAJPAYEE SEWRI - NHAVA SHEVA ATAL SETU
·
Recently, Prime
Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu in Navi Mumbai.
·
The foundation
stone of the bridge was laid by the Prime Minister in December
2016.
·
It is about
a 21.8 km long 6-lane bridge having about 16.5 km length over the sea
and about 5.5 km on the land.
·
It is the longest
bridge in India.
·
It
is also the longest sea bridge in India.
