14 September 2022 – Current Affairs

Awareness Program About Miltes

Paper 2 – Health

Paper 3 – Agriculture

Why Should You Know?

Agriculture Ministry organises various pre-launch events and initiates to create awareness about ancient and forgotten golden grains, as run up to the International Year of Millets 2023

In details

• A series of pre-launch events and initiatives have been organised by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on the  MyGov platform  as run-up to the International Year of Millets 2023 to create awareness and a sense of participation in the country  around the ancient and forgotten golden grains.
• The MyGov platform has becomea very important and successful medium for raising awareness through organisations of various competitions.
• The engagement on MyGov will play an important role in helping to make it a peoples movement.
• A host of competitions have already been launched, some are ongoing and many more in the future will be launched on the MyGoV platform, to capture the imagination  and creative spirit of the country.Details about the contests are available on My Gov website

Programes –

India’s Wealth, Millets for Health

• A contest for designing a comic story, with the theme ‘India’s Wealth, Millets for Health’ has been launched on 5th September 2022, and is intended to showcase the health benefits of millets to raise awareness among the masses. The contest closes on 5th November 2022, and has recived an encouraging response  so far.

Millet Startup Innovation Challenge

• The Millet Startup Innovation Challenge has been launched on 10th September 2022. This initiative encourages young minds to offer technological/ business solutions to the existing problems in the millets ecosystem. This Innovation Challange will remain open till 31st January 2023.

Millets Quiz

• The Mighty Millets Quiz was recently launched  with questions were based on millets and its benefits and which solicited a huge response. with questions were based on millets and its benefits. The contest closes on 20th October 2022, and has received 57,779 page views and 10,824 enries between 20th – 30th August 2022.
• A competition for an audio song and documentary film on the importance of millets, is also to be lauched shortly.
• The logo and slogan  contest for the  International Year of Millets 2023 has already been held and the winners will be announced shortly. The Government of India will soon  release the  Logo and Slogan to mark the momentous ocassion of the International Year of Millets 2023.

Background

• The United Nations General Assembly has declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets. This was adopted by a United Nations Resolution for which India took the lead and was supported by over 70 nations. 
• This will help to create awareness throughout the world of the importance of millets, its role in  sustainable agriculture, and its benefits as a smart and super food. 
• India is poised to become the global hub for millets  with a production of  more than 170 lakh tonnes and producing more  than 80 % of the millets produced in Asia.
• Earliest evidence for these grains have been found in Indus civilization and were one of the first plants domesticated for food.
• It is grown in about 131 countries and is the traditional food for around60 crore people in Asia & Africa.

What are Millets?

• Millets are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food.
• Millets are important crops in the semiarid tropics of Asia and Africa (especially in India, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger), with 97% of millet production in developing countries.
• This crop is favored due to its productivity and short growing season under dry, high-temperature conditions.
• Nutritious cereals include bajra, jowar, ragi/manduva, kangni, kodo, kutki, chena, sawan, browntop millet, teff millet, phonio millet etc.
• Millets are indigenous to many parts of the world.The most widely grown millets are sorghum and pearl millets, which are important crops in India and parts of Africa.Finger millet, proso millet, and foxtail millet are also important crop species.

First meeting of Board of Trade

Paper 3 – Economy

Why Should You Know?

Recently Union MinisterShri Piyush Goyal chaired the first meeting of the newly reconstituted Board of Trade.

In details –

• Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyalchaired the first meeting of the newly reconstituted Board of Trade.
• The meeting was attended by Various State Ministers and other senior officials of key line ministries and States, all major trade and industry bodies, Export Promotion Councils and industry associations.
• During the Board of Trade meeting, presentations were made on a variety of subjects such as India’s Import/ Export Performance, restructuring of the Department of Commerce, FTAs and way forward, States export performance, District as Export Hubs, new proposed Foreign Trade Policy, trade remedial, trade facilitation measures undertaken by customs, Government e-Marketplace etc.
• Ministers from states made interventions in the meeting, giving their state-specific suggestions, and also expressed their support to the central government initiatives in promoting the external trade.

About Board of Trade

• The Board of Trade meeting focused on export target setting, the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) (2022-27), and the strategies and measures to be taken in order to take forward domestic manufacturing and exports.
• of Trade vide notification No. 11/2015-20 dt 17th July 2019. 
• The Board of Trade, inter alia, advises the Government on policy measures connected with the Foreign Trade Policy in order to achieve the objectives of boosting India’s trade.
• There were 29 new non-official members who were also invited for the first time in this Board of Trade meeting.

Function

• It provides a platform to state governments and UTs for articulating state-oriented perspectives on Trade Policy.
• It also acts as a platform to Government of India for appraising State Governments and UTs about international developments affecting India’s trade.
• It is an important mechanism for deliberations on trade related issues with industry bodies, associations, export promotion councils, and state and UT governments.

Exercise Kakadu – 2022

Paper 2 – International Relations

Why Should You Know?

Recently the Exercise Kakadu 2022 (KA22) has began on 12 September 2022.

In details –

• Exercise Kakadu 2022 (KA22) is set to be one of the biggest yet. There will be more than 15 vessels, more than 30 aircraft and around 3,000 personnel from more than 20 countries participating in the exercise
• NoteblyKA22, is the exercise’s fifteenth iteration, following its cancellation in 2020 due to COVID-19.
• The theme for this year’s exercise is ‘Partnership, Leadership, Friendship’
• KA22 is being conducted in the Northern Australian Exercise area from 12 to 24 September 2022.

Background

• KA22 is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) led exercise supported by the Royal Australian Air Force.
• It is a biennial exercise which was started in the year 1993.
• The exercise is the RAN’s flagship biennial regional International engagement activity and has grown in size and complexity since its inception in 1993.

India’s participation

• INS Satpura and a P8 I Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the Indian Navy reached Darwin in Australia on 12 Sep 22, for participation in the multinational Exercise Kakadu – 2022.
• The two week-long Exercise, both in harbour and sea, involves ships and maritime aircraft from 14 navies. During the harbour phase of the exercise, the ship’s crew will engage in operational planning interactions and sports activities with participating Navies.

About INS Satpura

• INS Satpura (F48) is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate built for the Indian Navy.
• INS Satpura was built at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. The keel was laid on 31 October 2002 and was launched on 4 June 2004.
• The ship commissioned on 20 August 2011 into the Eastern Naval Command headquartered at Visakhapatnam.

About P8 I Maritime Patrol Aircraft

• It is manufactured by the American airline Boeing,The first aircraft produced by Boeing flew in 2009, and has been in service with the US Navy since 2013.
• It was inducted into the Indian Navy in the year 2013.
• The aircraft has two variants — the P-8I, which is manufactured for the Indian Navy, and the P-8A Poseidon, which is flown by the US Navy, the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Royal Norwegian Air Force. It has also been selected by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the Republic of Korea Navy, and the German Navy.
• The aircraft is designed forlong-range anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

ExerciseJimex- 2022

Paper 3 – Infrastructure

Why Should You Know?

The sixth edition of Japan India Maritime Exercise 2022 (JIMEX 22) hosted by Indian Navy commenced in the Bay of Bengal on 11 Sep 22.

In details –

• The sixth edition of Japan India Maritime Exercise 2022 (JIMEX 22) hosted by Indian Navy commenced in the Bay of Bengal on 11 Sep 22.
• The Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) ships are being led by R Adm Hirata Toshiyuki, Commander Escort Flotilla Four, and Indian Naval ships by R Adm Sanjay Bhalla, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.
• The Indian Naval ships welcomed JMSDF ships Izumo, a Helicopter Carrier, and Takanami, a Guided Missile Destroyer, on their arrival in the Bay of Bengal.
• The Indian Navy is being represented by three indigenously designed and built warships; Sahyadri, a multi-purpose stealth frigate and Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvettes Kadmatt and Kavaratti.
• Additionally, Guided Missile Destroyer Ranvijay, Fleet Tanker Jyoti, Offshore Patrol Vessel Sukanya, submarines, MIG 29K fighter aircraft, Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft and ship borne helicopters are also participating in the exercise.
• JIMEX 22 involves two Phases; exercises at sea and a harbour phase at Visakhapatnam.
• This edition marks the 10th anniversary of JIMEX, which began in Japan in 2012. It also coincides with the 70th anniversary of establishing of diplomatic relations between India and Japan.
• JIMEX 22 seeks to consolidate the high degree of interoperability that exists between maritime forces of the two countries, through complex exercises in the surface, sub-surface and air domains.

Other Military Exercises between India and Japan

• Trilateral Maritime Exercise Malabar with the USA.
• Joint Air Force exercise ‘ShinyuuMaitri’.
• Annual joint land military exercise named ‘Dharma Guardian’. 

National list of essential medicines

Paper 2 – Health

Why Should You Know?

Union Health MinistryDr Mansukh Mandaviya launches National Lists of Essential Medicines (NLEM) 2022 in which 384 Drugs included.

In details

• Union Health Ministry Dr Mansukh Mandaviya launches National Lists of Essential Medicines (NLEM) 2022
• 384 drugs have been included in this list with addition of 34 drugs, while 26 from the previous list have been dropped. The medicines have been categorized into 27 therapeutic categories.

What isessential medicines?

• The “essential medicines” are those that satisfy the priority health care needs, based on efficacy, safety, quality and total cost of the treatment.
• The primary purpose of NLEM is to promote rational use of medicines considering the three important aspects i.e., cost, safety and efficacy.
• It also helps in optimum utilization of healthcare resources and budget; drug procurement policies, health insurance; improving prescribing habits; medical education and training  for UG/PG; and drafting pharmaceutical policies.
• In NLEM, the medicines are categorized based on level of healthcare system as-P- Primary; S- Secondary and T- Tertiary.

Objective

• The concept is based on the premise that a limited list of carefully selected medicines will improve quality of health care, provide cost-effective health care and better management of medicines.
• the NLEM is a dynamic document and is revised on a regular basis considering the changing public health priorities as well as advancement in pharmaceutical knowledge.

Background

• The National List of Essential Medicines was first formulated in 1996 and it was revised thrice earlier in 2003, 2011, and 2015.
• The independent Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) was constituted by Union Health Ministry in 2018. The Committee after detailed consultation with experts and stakeholders has revised the NLEM, 2015 and submitted its report on NLEM, 2022 to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
• The Government of India has accepted the recommendations of the Committee and adopted the list”.
• the process of creation of NLEM depends on the feedback backed by scientific sources from stakeholders and inclusion/exclusion principle followed.

Special Campaign 2.0 Portal

Paper 2 – Governance

Why Should You Know?

Union Minister of State for Personnel and Public Grievances Dr. Jitendra Singh is going to launch the Special Campaign 2.0 Portal today i.e. on 14th September.

In details –

• Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh will launch the website, www.pgportal.govlin/scdpm22,  in CSOI, Chankayapuri  in a Government function attended by Joint Secretary Level Officers of 85 Ministries/Departments of Government of India in the presence of Secretary, DARPG.
• In the same gathering three reports of DARPG, the Special Campaign July Progress Report, the CPGRAMS 7. 0 Brochure and the CPGRAMS Monthly Progress Report for August, 2022 will also be launched in the same function.

Special Campaign 2.0

• The Government of India has announced Special Campaign 2.0 from 2nd October to 31st October, 2022 with a focus on Swachhata and Reducing Pendency in Government. 
• Cabinet Secretary has addressed all Secretaries of Government of India on 23rd August, 2022 and DARPG Guidelines note for the same was issued on 25th August, 2022.
• The Special Campaign 2.0 will focus more on field/outstation offices in addition to the Ministries/ Departments and their attached/subordinate offices.
• The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) will oversee implementation of the Special campaign 2.0.
• The Preparatory Part of the Special Campaign 2.0 will commence with this launch of the Special Campaign 2.0 portal by Dr. Jitendra Singh and it will continue till September 30, 2022 when, Ministries and Departments will identify the pendency in selected categories and finalize the campaign sites across their offices and complete necessary procedural requirements to conduct the Campaign.
• Every Ministry/ Department is expected to use the portal during the preparatory phase to enter targets of their cleanliness campaign sites, Files to be Weeded out, and various pendency Figures like MP’s References, State Government References etc.
• Until now more than 67,000 Sites have been identified by Ministries/ Departments of Government of India for conducting the cleanliness campaigns.
• The Special Campaign 2022 reinforces importance of timely disposal of references and a clean work space.  The Campaign 2022 is expected to cover over 1.5 lakh Post Offices, overseas mission/posts, Railway Stations, and other public offices in mission mode during the month-long campaign.  Training of nodal officers with respect to the portal of the Special Campaign has already been conducted by DARPG. 

High- Throughput Satellite Service

Paper 3 –Science & Tech

Why Should You Know?

On September 12, 2022 the Hughes Communications has launched the country’s first high throughput satellite based broadband service.

In details –

• Leading satellite internet provider Hughes Communications India (HCI) on September 12, 2022 announced the commercial launch of India’s first high-throughput satellite (HTS) broadband service powered by Isro.
• The HCI, which is a subsidiary of US-based global broadband service major Hughes Network Systems, aims to deliver high-speed broadband across the country, including in the most remote areas beyond the reach of terrestrial networks, thus connecting enterprise and government networks.
• The company had till now been providing limited broadband connectivity in some states and also to the Indian security forces along the China border, including in the Galwan region.
• The Hughes HTS broadband service combines Ku-band capacity from Isro’s Gsat-11 and Gsat-29 satellites with Hughes’ JUPITER Platform ground technology to deliver high-speed broadband across India.
• HCI currently provides satellite broadband across more than 2 lakh business and government sites in India, supporting enterprises as well as as well as strategic central and state government projects.
• In use on over 75 satellites, the Hughes’s JUPITER System is the de facto standard for both high-throughput and conventional satellite implementations worldwide.
• The service supports applications such as Wi-Fi hotspots for community internet access, managed SD-WAN solutions, backhaul to extend mobile network reach, and satellite internet for small businesses.

What is High-throughput Satellite?

• High-throughput Satellite or HTS is a communication satellite that provides more throughput than conventional communication satellites (Fixed Satellite Service).
• Higher-throughput refers to a significant increase in capacity when using the same amount of orbital spectrum.
• The increase in capacity typically ranges from 2 to more than 100 times as much capacity as the classic FSS (Fixed Satellite Service). This significantly reduces the cost per bit.

National Hindi Day

Paper 1- Culture

Why Should You Know?

National Hindi Day is celebrated every year on September 14. It aims to promote Hindi language and disseminate Hindi as the mother tongue.

In details

• National Hindi Day is celebrated all over the country on September 14.After independence, Hindi was given the status of official language onSeptember 14 , 1949  for the upliftment of Hindi in the country.  This day is celebrated to promote Hindi in the country.
• According to Article 343 (1) of the Constitution, the official language of India is ‘Hindi’ and the script is Devanagari.
• From 1953, Hindi Day was celebrated on September 14 every year to promote Hindi.  On this day, the Constituent Assembly declared Hindi as the official language on September 14, 1949.
• At the same time, after the recommendation of the RashtrabhashaPrachar Samiti, Hindi Day was celebrated from September 14, 1953.
• Hindi Day is celebrated for a whole week, which is known as Hindi Fortnight(pakhwara).  This day is celebrated from schools to offices. Under which competitions like essay competition, speech, poetry seminar, debate are organized.
• On this day, Hindi Language Award is also given to inspire people.  Literary events are organized on this day.  On the occasion of Hindi Day, the President felicitates all those who have achieved achievements in any field of Hindi language.

About World Hindi Day

• World Hindi Day is celebrated every year on January 10. Its main objective is to take Hindi language to the masses at the international level. Embassies of India abroad celebrate it with great enthusiasm as well as lectures are organized in government offices.
• It was first celebrated on January 10, 2006 after the announcement of the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Since then, World Hindi Day is celebrated every year on January 10.
• The first World Hindi Conference was held in Nagpur on January 10, 1975. Delegates from 30 countries participated in the conference. In memory of this conference, the Government of India decided to celebrate 10th January as World Hindi Day since 2006.
• It is worth mentioning that the purpose of World Hindi Day is to promote Hindi language at the international level  , while Hindi Day is celebrated only at the national level.

About Hindi language

• Hindi is the major language of India, about 40% of the country’s population uses this language. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. According to the 2011 population 43. 63% of Indians use Hindi language as mother tongue.
• In India,  Hindi   language   is spoken extensively in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi,  Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Apart from this, Hindi language is also spoken in many other countries of the world such as Pakistan, Mauritius, Trinidad and Suriname.

Annabhau Sathe

Paper 1– History

Why Should You Know?

Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is in Moscow to unveil the statue of Lok Shahir (balladeer) Annabhau Sathe at the All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature.

In details –

• Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar and BJP leader Dr Vinay Sahastrabuddhe are is Moscow to unveil the statue of Lok Shahir (balladeer) Annabhau Sathe at the All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature.
• An oil painting of Sathe, who passed away in 1969, will also be unveiled at the Moscow’s Indian consulate.
• The programme is part of events being held to mark 75 years of Indian Independence, and to also celebrate India-Russia relationship.
• Sathe’s work was immensely inspired by the Russian revolution and the Communist ideology. He was a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), and featured among the selected authors from India whose work was translated in Russian.

Who was Annabhau Sathe?

• Tukaram Bhaurao Sathe, who later came to be known as Annabhau Sathe, was born in a Dalit family on August 1, 1920 in Maharashtra’s Wategaon village in Satara district.
• In 1930, his family left the village and came to Mumbai. Here, he worked as a porter, a hawker and even a cotton mill helper. In 1934, Mumbai witnessed a workers’ strike under the leadership of Lal Bawta Mill Workers Union in which he participated. During his days at the Matunga Labour Camp, he got to know R B More, an associate of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in the famous ‘Chavdar Lake’ satyagraha at Mahad, and joined the labour study circle. Being a Dalit, he was denied schooling in his village. It was during these study circles that he learned to read and write.
• Sathe wrote his first poem on the menace of mosquitoes in the labour camp. He formed Dalit Yuvak Sangh, a cultural group and started writing poems on workers’ protests, agitations. The group used to perform in front of the mill gates. Progressive Writers Association was formed at the national level at the same time with the likes of Premchand, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Manto, IsmatChugtai, Rahul Sankrutyayan, Mulkraj Anand as its members. The group would translate the Russian work of Maxim Gorky, Anton Chekhov, Leo Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev into Marathi, which Sathe got hooked on. It not only had an ideological impact on him, but inspired him to write street plays, stories, novels etc. In 1939, he wrote his first ballad ‘Spanish Povada’.
• Sathe and his group travelled across Mumbai campaigning for workers’ rights. Out of the 49 years that he lived, Sathe, who began writing only after the age of 20, churned out 32 novels, 13 collections of short stories, four plays, a travelogue and 11 povadas (ballads).
• Several of his works like ‘AklechiGoshta,’ ‘StalingradachaPovada,’ ‘MaziMainaGavavarRahili,’ ‘Jag Badal GhaluniGhav’ were popular across the state. Almost six of his novels were turned into films and many translated into other languages, including Russian. His ‘BangalchiHak’ (Bengal’s Call) on the Bengal famine was translated into Bengali and later presented at London’s Royal Theatre. His literature depicted the caste and class reality of Indian society of that time.
• In 1943, he along with Amar Sheikh and Datta Gavhankar, formed the Lal Bawta Kala Pathak. The group toured across Maharashtra presenting programmes on caste atrocities, class conflict, and workers’ rights. He dedicated his most famous novel Fakira to Dr Ambedkar. In 1943, he was part of the process that led to the formation of the Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA). He became its national president in 1949. Sathe’s work was influenced by Marxism, but at the same time he brought out the harsh realities of the caste system.

About Russian connection

• Famous Marathi poet BaburaoBagul once called Sathe the Maxim Gorky of Maharashtra. Sathe was immensely inspired by Gorky’s ‘The Mother’ and the Russian revolution, which was reflected in his writings.
• According to Dr Megha Pansare, Associate Professor of Russian Head, Department of foreign Languages, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Sathe’s literature is closely related to the then Communist Russian literature which was a mixture of reality and art.
• “The then Russia used to have representative Indian literature translated into Russian. Sathe’s novels like Chitra or his famous StalingradchaPovada on the battle of Stalingrad battle were translated then,” she said. Sathe travelled to Russia in 1961 along with a group of other Indians.
• In his travelogue ‘MazaRussiachaPravas’ (My Travel to Russia), he writes that workers had come to see him off and how they wanted him to go and see slums of Russia and describe them after his return home. He was already famous because of his translated work and received a heartwarming reception in Russia.

Exercise Pitch Black 2022

Paper 2 – International Relations

Why Should You Know?

Recently practice Pitch Black 2022 was completed, let’s know about it

In details –

• The Indian Air Force contingent participating in Exercise Pitch Black 22 in Australia has returned after successful participation in the multinational exercise.
• Exercise Pitch Black 22 was hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force at its Darwin Air Base.
• Spanning over a duration of three weeks, the exercise saw the participation of 17 Air Forces and over 2500 military personnel.
• The IAF contingent included four Su-30 MKI & two C-17 aircraft. The participating forces took part in various multi-aircraft combat drills by day & night, simulating complex aerial scenarios, involving large formations.
• The exercise provided an opportunity for the air forces to share best practices and experiences.
• The event witnessed a collaborative spirit that has led to a better understanding of each other’s capabilities & a bonhomie that will lead to enduring ties between the participating nations.