1 Visiting Area Countries Meeting to Strengthen Conservation Efforts of Migratory Birds and Their Habitats in the Central Asian Flyway (CAF)
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme/Convention on Migratory Species (UNEP/CMS) organized the tour to strengthen the conservation efforts of migratory birds and their habitats in the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) region Organized a meeting of the countries of the region from 02 to 04 May 2023 in New Delhi . Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey inaugurated this meeting. Eleven countries from the Central Asia Airways region including Armenia, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated in the meeting. Apart from these, Secretaries of CMS, AEWA and Raptors MoU and Chief Wildlife Wardens of States, representatives of India-based scientific institutions, national and international non-governmental organizations and subject experts also participated in the meeting.
2 Saudi Arabia introduces e-visa system to replace visa stickers in seven countries
Saudi Arabia has officially stopped issuing visa stickers to seven countries and has replaced it with an e-visa system . According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, the decision to issue e-visas with QR code has become effective from May 2023 . These countries include Jordan, UAE, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, Philippines and Indonesia. The decision to issue e-visas has been taken by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the aim of promoting digitization in consular services.
3 CEPA Beyond Trade to hold discussions with leading industrialists from UAE and India
The UAE Ministry of Economy is hosting a special event during the Annual Investment Meeting at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center on Monday to mark the first anniversary of the UAE -India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement – CEPA . Its name is CEPA Beyond Trade Is. The event will showcase the positive impact of the agreement on commercial and cultural exchanges between the two countries over the past year. CEPA Beyond Trade will include panel discussions with leading industrialists from both UAE and India. It will discuss the key successes of the partnership so far and explore how the two sides are collaborating in areas such as food, fashion and the arts. The event will also feature a street food festival, fashion displays and live entertainment. The UAE-India CEPA, which came into force on May 1 , 2022, is the UAE’s first bilateral trade deal .
4 Union Minister Kiren Rijiju released the trailer of the film Love in the Nineties in Delhi
Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju released the trailer of the film Love in the Nineties in New Delhi . This is the first film on the Tagin community of Arunachal Pradesh . The film is directed by Tapan Natam and depicts the culture, lifestyle and other aspects of the Tagin community. Shri Rijiju has expressed confidence of the film being a hit. Renowned singer Mohit Chauhan was also present during the trailer release.
5 students of class 6 to 8 will learn AI and coding
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to include artificial intelligence and coding in the curriculum from class 6 itself. In fact, under the new education policy, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been included to promote skill education among students. Artificial Intelligence is the ability of a machine to think, learn and act normally like a human. CBSE is going to use artificial intelligence to teach students from 6th to 8th class. With this, subjects like coding will also be taught quickly. The board has listed 33 subjects, which include subjects such as Artificial Intelligence, Financial Literacy, Coding, Data Science, Augmented Reality, Kashmiri Embroidery, and Covid-19.
6 Vanessa Hudson has been appointed as the new of Qantas Airways Ltd.
Vanessa Hudson has been named as the new CEO of Qantas Airways Ltd , becoming the first woman to hold the position in the airline’s history. Hudson’s appointment was announced on May 2, and she will officially take over from outgoing CEO Alan Joyce when he retires in November. Hudson has had an impressive 28-year career at Qantas, during which he has held a number of senior positions, including Chief Customer Officer and Senior Vice President for the Americas and New Zealand. Qantas Airways Ltd is the national airline of Australia, founded in 1920, and operates domestic and international flights to more than 85 destinations in 20 countries.
7 Amitabh Kant’s book “Made in India: 75 Years of Business and Enterprise” released
Amitabh Kant, retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) (2016-2022) published “ Made in India: 75 Years” by Rupa Prakashan India Wrote a new book titled “ Of Business and Enterprise ”. The book coincides with India reaching a significant milestone by becoming the world’s 5th largest economy, surpassing its former colonial master, the United Kingdom (UK), after 75 years of independence. Other Books by Amitabh Kant: “Branding India – An Incredible Story”, “Incredible India 2.0”, “Editor of – The Path Ahead – Transformative Ideas for India”.
8 More than one million vaccines lost in Sudan: UNICEF
Since April, more than 1 million polio vaccines intended for children have been destroyed during looting in Sudan , according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). have become According to the World Health Organisation, there have been 28 attacks on health facilities in Sudan since the conflict began last month. Other human rights agencies have also reported looting during the Sudan crisis. According to the World Food Program, supplies worth about $1.4 million have been lost. Since the end of 2022, UNICEF is running a vaccination campaign to fight polio in Sudan. But now millions of polio vaccines have been destroyed by looting there. Polio can be fatal for children under the age of 5. Due to not getting vaccinated on time, it can also cause the death of children. Africa was declared free of polio in 2020. Whereas, even in the present times, cases of polio disease have increased in Malawi, Mozambique and Sudan.
9 Muktijuddha Manch in Bangladesh asked the government to remove China from Teesta project
Muktijuddha Manch, a liberation struggle warrior organization in Bangladesh , has asked the government to remove China from the Teesta project and complete it with its own funds like the Padma bridge . Muktijuddha Manch took out a protest march by forming a human chain in Rangpur and accused China of pushing Bangladesh into debt trap in the name of Teesta project. The forum said the project would destroy agricultural land, river basins and the environment. He also accused China of destabilizing Bangladesh by building an undeclared military base near Teesta river.
10 Coronation of Charles III in London
In Britain , King Charles is crowned in London . Charles III was sworn in at a ceremony held at Westminster Abbey in the presence of over 2,000 guests and dignitaries. The Archbishop of Canterbury placed St Edward’s crown on King Charles’ head. Subsequently, his wife Camilla was crowned as queen. At the coronation of King Charles, cannon salutes were fired at 13 locations across Britain, including London, Edinburgh and Hillsborough, and the bells at Westminster Abbey rang for two minutes.
11 Himachal cabinet approves Rs 1,500 monthly incentive for Spiti women
The Himachal Pradesh cabinet, led by Chief Minister Sukhwinder Sukhu, has announced a monthly incentive of Rs 1,500 for women in Spiti Valley . The incentive will be provided to all eligible women including Buddhist nuns above 18 years of age. This initiative is called the Indira Gandhi Mahila Samman Nidhi . This decision was taken during the cabinet meeting held on 3 April 2023. Apart from the incentives, the cabinet also approved several other measures to improve the financial condition of the state.
12 Telangana government to implement insurance scheme for 12 toddy tappers
Telangana government has announced a new insurance scheme for Toddy Tappers called ‘ Geetha Karmikula Bheema ‘. The scheme is similar to the ‘ Rythu Bheema ‘ program for farmers and aims to provide financial assistance to families of toddy growers who die due to accidents while collecting toddy from palm trees in the fields. Under the new scheme, an insurance amount of Rs five lakh will be deposited directly into the bank account of the family members of the deceased toddy tappers. The insurance amount will be disbursed within a week of the accident, which is much faster than the current ex-gratia process.
13 Russia’s Sberbank launches ‘GigaChat’ to compete with ChatGPT
Sberbank has developed technology called GigaChat to compete with ChatGPT in the artificial intelligence chatbot race. GigaChat’s architecture is based on NeONKA (Neural Omnimodal Network with Knowledge-Awareness) , which incorporates multiple neural network models, supervised fine-tuning, and reinforcement learning with human feedback.
14 Microsoft launches two new initiatives to support Indian SMBs
Microsoft India has announced two new initiatives aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in their digital transformation journey . The first initiative, the SMB-focused website – Microsoft for Small and Medium Businesses , brings together business owners and entrepreneurs in India to network with peers, enhance their skills and achieve holistic growth. The second initiative is the Digital Transformation Helpline , which provides dedicated support to help SMBs navigate their technology adoption and deployment journey.
15 Devendra Fadnavis unveiled the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Mauritius
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis unveiled the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Mauritius . He highlighted Maharashtra’s potential as a leading industrial and investment destination in India at the India-Mauritius Business Forum and signed an MoU to promote trade between Mauritius and Maharashtra.
16 New Immigration Policies of America and Mexico
The US and Mexico have agreed on a five-point plan to stop illegal border crossings while opening other routes for migrants . Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall with Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador) and other top officials. He introduced a plan in which Mexico would continue to accept migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua who are turned back at the border. COVID-19 restrictions have allowed US officials to turn away thousands of migrants crossing the southern border, but those restrictions will be lifted on May 11. The US is deploying 1,500 active-duty US troops for administrative support and implementing other action measures to manage overcrowding and other potential issues that may arise after the restrictions end.
17 Internet in India Report 2022 released
A new report published by IAMAI and Kantar revealed that majority of Indians are set to become active internet users in 2022, with 52% of the population or 759 million people accessing the internet at least once a month. This report indicated that the number of active internet users in India is expected to reach 900 million by 2025. is projected to increase. It was also noted that of the current active Internet users in India, 399 million are from rural areas, while 360 million are from urban areas. According to this report, rural India is driving the growth of internet in the country, with 56% of all new internet users in India expected to be from rural areas by 2025. This report showed that, while the internet penetration rate in urban India was around 71%, it had a growth rate of only 6% in 2022. Rural India, on the other hand, had a growth rate of 14% over the previous year, which accounted for most of the increase in numbers. However, the report underlined the digital divide between the states, with Bihar having less than half the internet penetration compared to the leading state, Goa.
18 India to join International Civil Aviation Organization’s climate action from 2027
India has announced that it will participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization ‘s (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and Long Term Aspirational Targets (LTAG) from 2027. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation , which was chaired by Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia , held in New Delhi. ICAO has been tasked with reducing carbon emissions from international civil aviation. To achieve this goal, the global body has adopted a number of key aspirational targets, including a two per cent annual fuel efficiency improvement by 2050, carbon neutral growth and net zero by 2050. These targets have been combined under CORSIA and LTAG.
19 IIT Madras researchers develop machine learning tool to detect tumors in brain, spinal cord
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have developed a machine learning-based computational tool called GBMDriver to improve the detection of cancer-causing tumors in the brain and spinal cord. The tool is freely accessible and was primarily developed to identify driver mutations and passenger mutations in glioblastoma, a rapidly growing tumor. The researchers found that GBMDriver could detect driver mutations in glioblastoma with an accuracy of 81.99%, which is superior to current computational techniques. The approach relies entirely on the sequence of the protein, and the study identified key amino acid characteristics that distinguish cancer-causing mutations.
20 Brazil’s Fake News Law
Brazil ‘s Congress is considering a regulatory bill that would shift responsibility for reporting illegal content on their sites to Internet companies. The bill, known as the Fake News Law or Bill 2630, proposes penalties for companies that fail to crack down on fake news and other illegal content on their platforms. This proposed legislation would create one of the strictest regulations governing social media and content-hosting websites.