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Current Affairs for IAS Exams -16 January 2023
Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 January 2023
::NATIONAL::
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
- A meeting of the BIMSTEC Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime held recently.
About:
- The program is being hosted by the Government of India in New Delhi and features participation from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
- The working group on counter terror deals with a few key realms of policy. These include “six Sub-Groups on
(a) Intelligence Sharing
(b) Legal and Law Enforcement
(c) Countering Radicalization and Terrorism
(d) Anti- Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism
(e) Human Trafficking and
(f) Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursor Chemicals.
Background:
- BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, is a regional grouping of 7 member states which first began meeting in 1997.
- Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand launched the grouping by signing the Bangkok Declaration.
- According to BIMSTEC, cooperation “initially focused on six sectors in 1997 (trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism, and fisheries) and expanded in 2008 to incorporate agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people-to-people contact, and climate change."
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1200-yr-old miniature stupas found in Nalanda district
- Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered two 1200-year-old miniature votive stupas during landscaping activities near Sarai Tila mound on the premises of ‘Nalanda Mahavihara’ a world heritage site in Nalanda district.
About:
- The stupas, carved from stone, depict Buddha figures.
- These are forms of the stupas, with their distinctive domelike drum, originating in eight cylindrical structures in which the Buddha’s relics were placed after his death.
- The stupa shape has become associated with the Buddhist goal of release from the cycles of suffering and rebirth.
- The larger ones at Bodhgaya were probably given by visiting kings, while smaller stupas such as this one were offered by monks and lay pilgrims.
- In addition to the drum, this stupa has a tiered base and is crowned with a series of stylized umbrellas that symbolize royalty and divine status.
- Beginning in the 7th century CE in India, small miniature terracotta stupas became popular as votive offerings.
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::INTERNATIONAL::
Karen ethnic people
- Recently, airstrikes by Myanmar’s military on two villages inhabited largely by ethnic Karen killed five civilians.
About:
- The Karen are a large and dispersed ethnic group of Southeast Asia.
- They trace their origins to the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, or Tibet.
- Karen settled in Burma/Myanmar’s southern Irrawaddy Delta area and in the hills along the Salween River in eastern Myanmar and in neighboring Thailand.
- The vast majority of Karen are Buddhists (over two thirds), although large numbers converted to Christianity during British rule and constitute about 30 per cent among the Karen.
- Their total population has been estimated at around 4 million.
- Language: The languages of the Karen are generally considered to be of the Tibeto-Burman family and the main dialects are Pwo and Sgaw.
- In Karen society women are often considered inferior or subservient to men and both women and men are encouraged to adhere to strict gender roles.
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World Social Report 2023
- It is a flagship publication of Department of Economic and Social Affairs ofUnited Nations Secretariat.
- Report builds on framework of Madrid International Plan of Action onAgeing (MIPAA) and explores social and economic opportunities andchallenges that population ageing presents.
- MIPAA was adopted at second World Assembly on Ageing in April 2002.
Key findings:
- Number of persons aged 65 years or older is expected to double over nextthree decades surpassing 1.6 billion in 2050 (accounting for more than16% of global population).
- Northern Africa and Western Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are expectedto experience fastest growth.
- Poverty levels at older ages are typically higher among women, due tolower levels of participation in formal labour markets, shorter workingcareers and lower wages compared to men.
Recommendation:
- To promote labour market participation, increase productivity, upholdgood health and prevent poverty throughout people’s lifetimes.
- Policies to reduce inequality and promote economic security at older ages in a fiscally sustainable manner.
::Economy::
Financial Services Institutions Bureau
- Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) recommended MDs for Bank of Baroda and Bank of India.
About:
- FSIB is established under Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance:
- To recommending whole-time directors and non-executive chairpersons on Boards of financialservices institutions.
- Advising on certain other matters relating to personnel management in these institutions.
FSIB replaced Banks Board Bureau.
Composition of FSIB:
- Chairperson to be nominated by Central Government.
- Ex officio members: Secretary in charge of DFS, Department of Public Enterprises, Chairpersonof IRDAI, Deputy Governor of RBI.
- Several part-time members with subject matter knowledge.
Primary role of FSIB:
- To identify manpower capabilities and ensure proper selection of talent for senior positions at financial institutions owned by the government.
- It is entrusted with making recommendations for the appointment of full-time directors and non-executive chairman of state-run financial services institutions.
- The final decision on the FSIB recommendation would be taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister.
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::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::
Geospatial Hackathon
- Union Minister of State Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh said, StartUps in new emerging technologies are key to India’s future economy.
About:
- Geospatial Hackathon aims to create interest in geospatial tech and specifically build solutions leveraging maps and satellite data for solving India’s problems.
- The Department of Science and Technology(DST) under the Minister of Science & Technology in partnership with IIIT Hyderabad and Microsoft has launched this Hackathon.
- The Geospatial Hackathon will be divided into 2 parts,
1. The National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board and IIIT Hyderabad brings the Startup Challenge as part of this Hackathon intending to promote the use of geospatial technologies in solving real-world problems and fostering innovation in the Indian geospatial ecosystem
2. The Research Challenge is specific to the problem statements given by DST (Survey of India).) is proposing a Geospatial Data Processing, Solution development, and Servicing Challenge to foster the adoption of geospatial technologies and to promote innovation in India’s Geospatial ecosystem.