Cabinet Approvals on May 31, 2023The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals:
i.On the lines of the Central Government plan to expand the foodgrain storage capacities in India, the Union Cabinet has approved the constitution and empowerment of an Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) for facilitation of the World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector.
- The Government will infuse approximately Rs 1 Lakh Crore (Rs 1 trillion) for this plan in order to increase foodgrain storage capacity by 700 lakh tonne in the cooperative sector.
ii.The Cabinet has approved the establishment of a Regional Office of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in New Delhi, Delhi. This office will focus on UPU’s development cooperation and technical assistance activities in collaboration with UPU.
iii.To further expand the Smart Cities Program, the Union cabinet approved the ‘City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0)’ to 18 more cities which will run for a period of four years, from 2023 till 2027.
Director General– Masahiko Metoki
Headquarters– Berne, Switzerland
Members– 192 nations
India Conducts Asia’s 1st Performance-based Helicopter NavigationIndia conducted Asia’s first demonstration of performance-based navigation for helicopters. The flight from Juhu (a suburb of Mumbai), Maharashtra to Pune, Maharashtra was made using GAGAN (GPS(Global Positioning System) Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) satellite technology, which allows high-quality of air traffic management.
- The GAGAN technology was jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Airports Authority of India(AAI).
Key Points:
i.The GAGAN technology supports the aircraft/helicopters with guided landing at airports which do not have instrument landing systems for low-visibility operations.
ii.All the registered aircraft in India will have to comply with GAGAN by December 2025.
iii.This will enhance better traffic management of both aircraft and helicopters in the Indian air space.
About GAGAN:
i.The GAGAN is a state-of-the-art space-based augmentation system that uses a system of ground stations to provide necessary augmentations to the GPS standard positioning service(SPS) navigation signal.
- GAGAN is the regional Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) implemented by the government of India.
ii.It is a system to improve the accuracy of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver by providing a reference signal.
iii.It provides possible navigational services over the Indian FIR (Flight Information Region) with the capability of expanding to neighbouring FIRs.
- The GAGAN is designed to provide the additional accuracy, availability, and integrity necessary to enable users to rely on GPS for all phases of flight, from en route through approach for all qualified airports within the GAGAN service volume.
Benefits:
i.GAGAN will also provide the capability for increased accuracy in position reporting, allowing for more uniform and high-quality Air Traffic Management (ATM)
ii.GAGAN will also provide benefits beyond aviation to all modes of transportation, including maritime, highways, and railroads.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurates National Training Centre for FSSAIOn May 31 2023, Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) inaugurated the state-of-the-art National Training Centre for Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Key People:
Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, Minister of State (MoS), MoH&FW; G. Kamala Vardhana Rao,Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of FSSAI, S Gopalakrishnan, Special Secretary, MoH&FW, and General (Dr.) V.K. Singh (Retd), MoS of Civil Aviation and Road Transport & Highways, were present at the event.
Significance of the Center:
i.The new National Training Centre of the FSSAI will provide structured instruction, practice, and learning experiences to bridge the gap between existing knowledge and desired knowledge in the field of food safety and standards.
ii.National Training Centre is established to offer various training programs.
- As mandated by the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act 2006 and the FSS Rules, 2011, FSSAI is responsible for providing training to individuals involved in food businesses, including food business operators, employees, Food Safety Officers, and designated officers.
- This will also ensure the development of a future-ready workforce committed to ensuring safe and wholesome food for the citizens of India.
App Launched:
Food Safety and Certification (FoSTaC), an e- learning app developed by FSSAI that contains learning and training modules about food safety guidelines, such as proper food handling, storage, and hygiene practices etc., for street vendors was launched by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
Books Released:
Dr. Mandaviya launched two books namely Millets (Shree Anna) Recipes- A Healthy Menu for Mess/Canteens and Healthy Gut, Healthy You – Traditional recipes with potential probiotic benefits.
About Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI):
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)-G. Kamala Vardhana Rao
Established-5 September 2008
Acts related to FSSAI– Food Safety and Standards Act (2006)
MeitY launches pilot project on Electronics Repair Services Outsourcing
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (Information Technology) has started a pilot project on Electronics Repair Services Outsourcing (ERSO) in Bengaluru, Karnataka which will run for three months on a trial basis with five companies, namely Flex, Lenovo, CTDI, R-Logic, and Aforeserve.
Key Points:
i.Through the ERSO scheme, India hopes to capture 20% of the global repair service market currently valued at $100 billion – in five years.
ii.At present, India’s revenue from repair services is about $350 million which is likely to be $20 billion in next 5 years.
iii.This initiative will also support Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment).
iv.MeitY, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) converged with industry to make India the most attractive repair destination for ICT (Information and Communications Technology) products globally.
MoH&FW Released OTT Guidelines for anti-tobacco warning on OTT; 1st of its kind in the World On the occasion of World No-Tobacco Day 2023 (31st May 2023), Union Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoH&FW), released OTT (over-the-top) guidelines for the regulation of online depiction of Tobacco Products in online curated content.
- Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director South East Asia, World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that, with this release, India becomes the 1st country in the world to regulate anti-tobacco warnings on OTT platforms.
About the OTT guidelines:
i.The publishers of online curated content that display tobacco products or their use will be required to comply with specific guidelines.
ii.An Inter-ministerial committee with representatives from the MoH&FW, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting(MIB), and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), will take action on its own motion (suo moto), or on receiving a complaint regarding the failure to comply with the provisions outlined in the guidelines.
Salient features:
i.Health spots, messages, and disclaimers:
- display of anti-tobacco health spots, for a minimum of 30 seconds each at the beginning and middle of the program.
- exhibit anti-tobacco health warnings during the display of tobacco products or their use.
- an audio-visual disclaimer on the ill effects of tobacco use (minimum 20 seconds) at the beginning and middle of the program.
ii.Access to content:
- Health spots, messages, and disclaimers for the publishers will be available on mohfw.gov.in & ntcp.mohfw.gov.in.
iii.Legibility and language:
- The static message must be legible and readable with black font on a white background.
- The audio-visual disclaimer should be in the same language as used in the online curated content.
iv.Limitations on display:
- Display of brands of cigarettes or other tobacco products or any form of tobacco product placement is prohibited.
Other launches:
i.During the event, Union Minister also launched a Dashboard of online reporting of the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP) activities and a Portal to report Online violations under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act(COTPA), 2003 and the prohibition of E-cigarette Act, 2019.
ii.He also launched the Tobacco Free Youth Campaign and “Aaj Zindagi Jeete Hai’, a musical anthem by Music Composer-Duo Salim-Sulaiman launched in collaboration with Tata Memorial Centre.
About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoH&FW):
Union Minister– Mansukh Mandaviya (Rajya Sabha- Gujarat)
Minister of State– Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar
ILO report: Global unemployment fall to 5.3%, low-income nations lag in RecoveryAccording to the International Labour Organisation (ILO)’s 11th edition ‘World of Work’, the global unemployment is projected to fall below pre pandemic levels to 191 million, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 5.3% in 2023.
- The report highlighted that the low-income countries may remain far behind in the recovery process.
- The report also calls for global financial support for job creation and social protection.
Key Points:
i.In 2023, the global jobs gap is projected to at 453 million people or 11.7%, which is more than double the unemployment count.
ii.Based on the repot, in 2023, the lowincome countries are facing the largest jobs gap rate at 21.5%, and the rate in middle-income countries stands slightly above 11%. Whereas the High-income countries register the lowest rates, at 8.2%.
iii.As per the report’s projection, low-income countries in the Arab and African region will not be able to recover to the pre-Covid levels of unemployment in 2023.
About International Labour Organisation (ILO):
Director-General – Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo
Headquarters – Geneva , Switzerland
Establishment – 1919
India joins Centralised Laboratory Network (CLN) for testing vaccines
India through its Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV) has joined the Centralized Laboratory Network (CLN) which currently has 15 partner facilities in 13 countries that works to test vaccines which can be used during pandemic, epidemic disease outbreak.
- CLN is a part of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Network is the largest global group which has standardised methods and materials for testing.
Key Point:
The new members of the CLN now are Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV), Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) (Senegal), KAVI Institute of Clinical Research (KAVI ICR) & University of Nairobi Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (UNITID) (Kenya), Synexa Life Sciences (South Africa) and Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) (Uganda)
RBI & IIT Madras Collaborates to Launch Voice Banking Solution
IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP), not for profit company promoted by Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai, Tamil Nadu(TN) and IITM Incubation Cell (IITMIC) have joined hands with Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to introduce voice-banking solutions to eliminate language barriers across India.
- The voice-based banking solution aims at conducting basic banking transactions through voice-controls in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English, in the initial stage.
- Voice-banking will assist the illiterate and the visually impaired in their banking needs.
To promote and drive innovation in voice/speech-based solutions for banking services, IITMRP, IITMIC and RBIH has organised “Vaulter Voice”, a voice banking hackathon.
AIIMS Nagpur Becomes 1st AIIMS to Receive NABH Accreditation
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) in Nagpur, Maharashtra has become the first of all AIIMS to be accredited by the
National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH).
- NABH is a constituent board of Quality Council of India (QCI), set up to establish and operate accreditation programme for healthcare organisations.
- The NABH accreditation is a globally recognized standard for healthcare quality. The NABH accreditation assesses a hospital’s performance in a number of areas, including patient care, safety, and organisational efficiency.
Ajay Yadav, an IAS officer appointed as MD of Solar Energy Corporation of India LimitedOn 31st May 2023, Ajay Yadav, an Indian Administrative (IAS) officer from the 2005 batch of Bihar Cadre, has appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a Public Sector Unit (PSU) under the administrative control of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).
- Prior to this appointment, Ajay Yadav served as the Joint Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Government of India (GOI).
- Ajay Yadav succeeded Suman Sharma, former MD of SECI, who had joined as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on 25th May 2023.
About Ajay Yadav:
i. Ajay Yadav had started his career as an Assistant Collector in Patna, Bihar, and has subsequently held several important positions in the State Government as well as in
ii. Before joining MNRE as Joint Secretary, he was working as a Private Secretary to the Minister of Civil Aviation.
iii. He also served as the Director (Government Nominee) of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA), a Public limited Government Company.
About Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI):
- SECI is Miniratna Category-I Central Public Sector Unit (CPSU) to facilitate the implementation of National Solar Mission (NSM).
- It is the only CPSU dedicated to Renewable Energy (RE).
- The company has been converted into a Section-3 company, in 2015, through an amendment by GoI under the Companies Act, 2013.
Established in– 9th September 2011
Chairman– Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, IAS
MD– Ajay Yadav, IAS
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
K Krithivasan takes over as MD & CEO of TCS; Rajesh Gopinathan steps downOn 1st June 2023, K Krithivasan took charge as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s Largest information technology (IT) services company and a part of the TATA Group.
- K Krithivasan, Global Head of The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) Business Group of TCS, has been serving as the CEO designate of TCS since 16th March 2023.
- He succeeds Rajesh Gopinathan, who stepped down from the post on 31st May 2023.
- K Krithivasan became the 5th Chief Executive Officer of TCS
About K Krithivasan
i.K Krithivasan served as the president and global head of the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) business group at Tata Consultancy Services.
ii.He joined TCS in 1989 and worked in various leadership roles in delivery, customer relationship management, large program management and sales
iii.K Krithivasan became the 5th Chief Executive Officer of TCS.
About Rajesh Gopinathan:
i.He served as the Chief Financial Officer of TCS from 2013 and He was appointed as the CEO of TCS in February 2017.
ii.He was part of the Board of Trade, a top government advisory body on external trade.
About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS):
Chairman– N Chandrasekaran
MD and CEO-K Krithivasan
Headquarters-Mumbai, Maharashtra
CCI Director Atul Verma gets three-month extension
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has extended the tenure of Atul Verma as the Director General of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for three months beyond May 31, 2023.
- The Director General (DG) office is the investigation arm of CCI.
- CCI is probing various anti-competitive cases, including those relating to technology companies.
Amarendu Prakash Takes Charge as SAIL Chairman; Succeeds Soma Mondal
On 31st May 2023, Amarendu Prakash took charge as the new Chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), a Maharatna a Central Public Sector Enterprise(CPSE) under the Ministry of Steel.
- Prior to this appointment, he has been servings as the Director (In-charge) of SAIL’s Bokaro steel plant(BSL), in Bokaro, Jharkhand, since 2020.
- He succeeds Soma Mondal, who retired from the post on April 30, 2023.
A metallurgical engineer from BIT Sindhri, Shri Prakash joined SAIL in 1991 as a Management Trainee (Technical) and worked at various capacities with in . After working in various positions of responsibilities in plants and units, Shri Amarendu Prakash was selected as a Director in the SAIL Board in charge of Bokaro Steel Plant in 2020.
Prakash joined SAIL in 1991 as a Management Trainee (Technical) and worked at various capacities with responsibilities in plants and units.
SpaceX Launched 52 Starlink Satellites to Provide Global BroadBandOn 31th May 2023, SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation), successfully launched a two staged rocket Falcon9 carrying 52 satellites of Starlink Mission into circular low Earth orbit about a distance of 540 km above Earth from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, United States of America.
This marks SpaceX’s 18th orbital mission of 2023 and this also the 35th re-flight of the SpaceX in 2023.
Starlink Mission:
i.The first batch of Starlink satellites was deployed in 2019, Since then, almost 4,591 satellites have been sent into low orbit to create an overheard network of spacecraft.
ii.This mission named Starlink Group 2-10 will mark the 83rd operational Starlink mission
iii.These satellites join the 3,700 operational spacecraft in SpaceX’s Starlink mega constellation.
iv.SpaceX has approval to deploy 12,000 Starlink satellites and has applied for permission for another 30,000 on top of that.
v.Starlink satellites are equipped with optical space lasers to create a global broadband internet network that can provide high-speed connectivity to the remote corners of the Earth.
Falcon9’s first stage returned and landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean about 8 minutes and 45 seconds after launch.
Previous Starlink Launch:
On May 10 2023, SpaceX launched 51 Starlink Satellites by Falcon9 rocket.
Recent news about SpaceX:
SpaceX’s Dragon capsule named Freedom carrying Ax-2 private astronauts for the Houston-based company Axiom Space., launched on 21th May 2023 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida to the International Space Station (ISS) returned to Earth on 30thMay in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida
About SpaceX:
Founder & CEO -Elon Musk
Established– 2002
Headquarters– Hawthorne,California,United States of America
Indian Navy’s anti-submarine MH-60R helicopter makes maiden landing on INS Vikrant
On 19th May 2023, Indian Navy’s MH-60 ‘Romeo’(MH-60R)helicopter, an anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare, made its maiden landing on Indian Naval Ship (INS) NS Vikrant , an indigenously designed and constructed aircraft carrier.
MH-60R from the Naval air station INS Garuda, Kochi, Kerala landed on the indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in the Arabian Sea.
- The integration of the helicopter with naval warship would strengthen the Indian Navy’s capability to counter underwater threats, monitor maritime activities and conduct surveillance operations.
Padma Shri awardee & Sanskrit Scholar Ved Kumari Ghai passed awayOn 30th May 2023, Ved Kumari Ghai, Veteran Sanskrit Scholar and Padma Shri awardee, passed away at her residence in Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir. She was born on December 16, 1931.
About Ved Kumari Ghai:
i. VedKumariGhai started her career as a professor of Sanskrit at Government College for Women, Parade, Jammu.
ii. She was the former Dean and Head of Sanskrit Department, University of Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir.
iii. She served as the Head of Sanskrit Department until her retirement oin 1991.
iv. In 1966–1967 and 1978–1980, she taught Panini’s Sanskrit grammar and literature at the Institute of Indian Studies, Copenhagen University, Denmark.
v. She was also a member of the Amarnath shrine board.
Notable works:
i. She has authored books like Kashmir Darpan, Narendra-Darpan and Kashmir ka Sanskrit SahityakoYogdann (Kashmir’s Contribution to Sanskrit Literature)
ii. She has also co-authored a few books with her husband Professor Ram Pratap like Urmika (a Collection of Sanskrit Poems), MeraGeetTumhaaray hain (Hindi) and so on.
iii. Her scholarly book “Studies in Phonetics and Phonology” has been widely appreciated.
Awards and Honours:
i. In 1995 her scholarly pursuits won her President of India ‘Certificate of Honour, Gold Medal by the Jammu and Kashmir Government for social work.
ii. In 1997 she won the President’s Award for Sanskrit. In 2005, she was awarded the Dogra Ratan award; lifetime achievement award in 2009 and Stri Shakti Puraskara in 2010.
iii. In 2014, she was honoured with the Padma Shri under the Literature and Education discipline .
World Milk Day 2023 – June 1World Milk Day (WMD) is annually celebrated across the world on 1st June to create awareness about the importance of milk, one of the most widely produced and valuable agricultural commodities on Earth.
The day recognises milk as global food and celebrates the dairy sector.
- The annual observance of World Milk Day is led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO).
The common theme of the observance is “The potency of milk and the milk industry.”
Background:
The observance of World Milk Day was initiated by the FAO in 2001 to provide an opportunity to bring attention to activities that are connected with the dairy sector.
- The first-ever World Milk Day was observed on 1st June 2001.
About Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO):
Director-General– Qu Dongyu
Headquarters– Rome, Italy
Global Day of Parents 2023 – June 1 The United Nations(UN)’s Global Day of Parents is annually observed across the globe on 1st June to honour parents across the globe and to create awareness about the importance of quality parenting and family life in every child’s upbringing.
Significance:
i.The global observance highlights the major role of parents in the development of children and recognises the family has the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children.
ii.The day offers a platform to appreciate parents throughout the world for their selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifice towards nurturing this relationship.
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/66/292 on 17th September 2012 and proclaimed the 1st June of every year as the Global Day of Parents.
ii.The first ever Global Day of Parents was observed on 1st June 2013.
Importance of parenting:
Parents(including mothers and fathers, as well as other caregivers who act as parents) are among the most important people in the lives of young children.
The 3 essential components of parenting are empathy, emotional regulation, and endurance.
Other Related Observances:
i.UN observed 1994 as the International Year of the Family under the theme “Family: resources and responsibilities in a changing world”.
ii.In 1993, UNGA adopted a resolution and proclaimed the 15th May of every year as “International Day of Families” to raise awareness about the importance of families and to promote the role of families in society.
World Multiple Sclerosis Day 2023-May 30World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day is observed annually on May 30th to raise awareness about Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and to provide support to those who are living with this disease.
- Multiple sclerosis is a chronic Autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord.
The theme for World Multiple Sclerosis Day 2020-2023 is “connections”.
The annual observance of World MS Day is coordinated by the MS International Federation and its members.
Background:
World Multiple Sclerosis Day was initiated by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF), an international non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and advocating for people with multiple sclerosis.
- The first ever World MS Day was observed on 27th May 2009.
Significance:
i.To dispel myths and misconceptions surrounding MS and promote understanding and support for those living with the condition.
ii.To raise awareness about multiple sclerosis and its impact on individuals, families, and communities around the world
Events in India:
On 30th May 2023, as a part of the observance of the World MS Day 2023, The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) organised awareness programs about Multiple Sclerosis and conducted various events at more than 40 places across India.
- The theme colour of MS Day is Orange.
- As a part of the observance, the organisations lighten their buildings in orange colour.
MS Connections campaign:
i.The MS Connections campaign focuses on building community connection, self-connection and connections to quality care.
ii.The campaign tagline is ‘I Connect, We Connect’ and the campaign hashtag is ‘MS Connections’
Key Points:
i.MS Connections challenges social barriers that leave people affected by MS feeling lonely and socially isolated.
ii.This observance also provides a platform to advocate for better services, celebrate support networks and champion self-care.
About Multiple Sclerosis International Federation:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Peer Baneke
Headquarters– London,United Kingdom
Established– 1967
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