World Press Freedom Index 2023: India ranked 161

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1 President of India launches ‘Addiction Free Odisha’ campaign of Brahma Kumari Centre, Hatbadra

The President of India,  Smt. Draupadi Murmu  launched  the  ‘ Addiction Free Odisha ‘ campaign of the Brahma Kumari Center  at  Hatbadra, Mayurbhanj . In his address on the occasion, the President said that drug addiction is a disorder. It is a social, economic, physical and mental curse. Addiction creates tension in the family and society. That’s why there is a need to make people aware about the side effects of drugs. He expressed confidence that when people would understand the ill effects of drugs, they would certainly try to quit.

World Press Freedom Index 2023: India ranked 161

World Press Freedom Day  (WPFD)   is observed annually on 3 May . To mark the day,  the World Press Freedom Index 2023  was published   by  Reporters Without Borders (RSF) . India ranks 161 out of 180 countries  in this index   with  a score of 36.62  , India’s rank in the year 2022 was 150. Norway, Ireland and Denmark  are the top 3 best performing countries. Vietnam, China and North Korea  ranked at the bottom of the list  . Sri Lanka also made a significant improvement in the index ranking this year at 135th position as compared to 146th in 2022. Pakistan is at 150th position.

3 Two-day meeting of Foreign Ministers of  Shanghai Cooperation Organization begins in Goa

 Delegates have started arriving in Goa for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting  in   Goa  . The Shanghai Cooperation Organization   is a multilateral organization of  eight member states , which was established on 15 June 2001  in Shanghai. The member countries of the organization include India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

4 Wayanad secured first position in ODF Plus ranking

Wayanad,  a district in Kerala, has become  India’s first ODF plus district. A remarkable achievement has been achieved. This is an important milestone in the country’s efforts towards maintaining cleanliness under the Swachh Bharat Mission. ODF stands for Open Defecation Free. The ODF program is part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, which was launched by the Government of India on 2 October 2014 to achieve nationwide sanitation. Wayanad district secured the first position in the ODF Plus ranking in the three-star category. Wayanad was followed by Mancherial in Maharashtra and Anupur district in Madhya Pradesh. Wayanad scored 100 points in the ODF ranking, while Mancherial and Anupur got 90.45 and 88.79 points respectively. The ODF Plus score for the panchayats and districts was evaluated by considering the ODF Plus progress reports submitted by the villages before October 1, 2022.

5 UGC launches CU-Chayan Portal for the recruitment of professors

UGC  has   introduced a new platform  to appoint faculty members in Central Universities . CU Chayan Portal (CU-Chayan Portal)  will provide a consolidated list of job opportunities in all 46 Central Universities under the Union Ministry of Education. According to the recent presentation of the Central Government in the Lok Sabha, about 31% of the sanctioned posts in Central Universities are vacant. This portal will solve this problem by fasttracking the recruitment process.

USCIRF calls for putting India in the “country of particular concern” category

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)  recently  released  its  2023 annual report , which ranks the state of religious freedom around the world through 2022. sheds light on. The report provides recommendations for improving the promotion of freedom of religion or belief abroad. India criticized the report when it recommended that the country be designated for the fourth consecutive year as a “country of particular concern”. USCIRF has recommended that 17 countries be designated as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) for violating the right to freedom of religion or belief. In addition, five new countries including India have been recommended to be designated as CPCs. The report suggests 11 countries to be added to the State Department’s SWL, with Sri Lanka being one of them, and it is being proposed for the first time in 2022 because of its deteriorating religious freedom status. The report includes the USCIRF Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) list of victims,

US Food and Drug Administration approves world’s first RSV vaccine

The US Food and Drug Administration has  approved GSK’s Arexy vaccine, the  world’s first  vaccine  against  respiratory syncytial virus (RSV ) for adults. However, the vaccine is yet to be approved by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RSV infection is more prevalent among children, but occasionally it can affect the adult population as well. RSV usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but can be severe for people with weakened immune systems. Which can cause severe pneumonia and bronchiolitis in infants and the elderly.

8 Andhra Pradesh District Superintendent of Police asks people to beware of “bluebugging”

The rise of cyber crime  in several areas including  Prakasam district  in  Andhra Pradesh  has been a matter of concern. District Superintendent of Police  Malika Garg  has urged  people to take precautions to protect themselves  from bluebugging attacks. Bluebugging is a form of hacking that involves accessing a device   via its discoverable Bluetooth connection . Once a device is Bluebugged, a hacker can listen to calls, read and send messages, and steal and modify contacts. This type of attack is particularly dangerous because many smartphones have their Bluetooth settings on discovery mode, making it easier for hackers to gain access within 10 meters of a device.

9 India’s first undersea tunnel to open in Mumbai

India’s first undersea twin tunnels  are set to open in Mumbai  after more than two years of work on  the Mumbai Coastal Road Project  by  the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation . These tunnels  are part of the 10.58 km long Coastal Road project  that   connects  Marine Drive to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link . The 2.07 kilometer long tunnels  are located 17–20 meters below sea level, with about 1 kilometer of the tunnel being under the sea. The project aims to reduce travel time from 45 minutes to just 10 minutes during peak hours. Six crossways will be provided in the tunnels, four for pedestrians and two for motorists, with three lanes in each tunnel. The tunnels were built with the help of the biggest ever Tunnel-Boring Machine (TBM).

World’s largest refinery complex to be built in Maharashtra

The Maharashtra government  has  proposed  the Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (RRPCL)  project, which  is touted as the world’s largest single location refinery complex . The refinery  will be set up at  Barsu village in the coastal Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. The joint venture partners for the project include  Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Are included. An estimated Rs 3 lakh crore will be spent on this project. And it will require 6,200 acres of land from 14 villagers in Ratnagiri and neighboring Sindhudurg districts. This is expected to make India self-reliant in the petrochemical sector, reduce the country’s dependence on imports and boost the local economy.

11 Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways flagged off the inaugural shipment from Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port in Kolkata to Sittwe Port in Myanmar

Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways  Shantanu Thakur  flagged   off the inaugural shipment  from  Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port  in  Kolkata to Sittwe Port  in  Myanmar . In a tweet, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the Sittwe port has been developed as part of the Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project under Indian grant assistance. The Kaladan River connecting the port of Sittwe in Myanmar with the state of Mizoram in India  The Sittwe port has been developed under an agreement between India and Myanmar for the construction and operation of a multimodal transit transport facility. The port is connected to Paletwa in Myanmar through an inland waterway and to Zorinpui from Paletwa in Mizoram by road.

12 Patna High Court directs Bihar government to stop caste based survey immediately

Patna High Court  directs the State Government to  immediately stop the caste based survey  and ensure that the data already collected is kept secure and not shared with anyone till the final order on the writ petition is passed . The High Court has fixed July 3 as the next date of hearing. A division bench of Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad rapped the state government for its irresponsible attitude towards the right to privacy. The court said that prima facie, the state has no right to conduct a caste-based survey. The court also expressed concern about the government’s intention to share the survey data with leaders of various parties in the state legislature.

13 WEF releases Chief Economists Outlook report

 Recently released ‘ Chief Economists Outlook’ by the World Economic ForumThe report aims to provide an overview of the current economic situation and highlight key areas where policymakers and business leaders should focus their efforts in response to the shock of geoeconomic and geopolitical events. The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently conducted a survey to identify the countries most likely to benefit from ongoing supply-chain changes. India, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey and Poland are among the countries expected to make significant gains, according to the survey. The survey also found that South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, Regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean and the Americas are likely to benefit most from these changes. Leading economists have identified several sectors where they anticipate significant changes in the supply chain, including semiconductor, green energy, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, food, energy and the overall technology sector.

14 British-Indian actress Meera Syal honored with BAFTA Fellowship

Indian-origin British actress  and writer   Meera  Syal  will be awarded the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Fellowship . In Britain, this honor is given to an individual for the highest contribution in the field of film, sports or television. Meera Syal is an Indian-origin actress, screenwriter and novelist based in the UK. She was born in the UK to Punjabi parents and grew up in the West Midlands region of England. Syal has been featured in ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ and ‘The Kumars at No. She is best known for her work on television shows such as 42, which has earned her critical acclaim and several awards. He has also made a mark as an award-winning screenwriter and novelist.

15 World Bank Group launches Business Ready project

The World Bank  Group recently   launched a new project called Business Ready , which aims to assess the business and investment climate in economies around the world. The new initiative   will replace the Doing Business project , which has been the World Bank Group’s flagship program for measuring Ease of Doing Business for more than two decades. The Business Ready project aims to prepare the economic environment of each country for a dynamic private sector. This will be done by assessing and ranking the ease of doing business in each economy, identifying areas for improvement, and providing recommendations to policy makers and stakeholders.

16 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya of Nadia district of West Bengal won the 24th National Youth Parliament Competition

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya  of  Nadia district  of  West Bengal  has won the 24th National Youth Parliament Competition . The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has been organizing this competition for the last 26 years in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. The objective of the Youth Parliament Scheme is to inculcate discipline, judicious expression of thoughts and other democratic values ​​in the young generation. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal distributed the prizes for the best performance in the competition, in New Delhi.

17 Delhi has an action plan to deal with air pollution during the summer months

On 1 May, Chief Minister  Arvind Kejriwal  raised  concerns over air pollution in Delhi during the summer months. launched an action plan to deal with it. The main objective of the summer strategy is to manage the problem of dust pollution, which has contributed significantly to the deterioration of the city’s air quality. The Delhi government already has an action plan to tackle air pollution in the winter months, which focuses on stubble burning, firecracker pollution, and industrial and vehicular emissions. To tackle the problem of dust pollution during the summer months, the Delhi administration has procured a total of 84 mechanical road sweepers, 609 water sprinklers and 185 mobile anti-smog guns. Additionally, the government is procuring 70 integrated road sweeping machines and 250 integrated water sprinklers to further improve the air quality. Teams have been set up to patrol industrial areas and monitor activities like open burning, dumping of garbage and dust pollution. during day and night respectively

18 France India Foundation organized Young Leaders Program

France India Foundation  (FIF) is a private, non-profit organization established to promote meaningful dialogue between youth leaders of India and France. The Foundation   was initiated by  the France Asia Foundation and  is supported by both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France . FIF’s flagship program   is the Young Leaders Program . The program aims to identify and nurture promising young leaders from various fields including business, politics, sports and culture. The first batch of this program had 25 young leaders from India and France. Young Leaders Program  New Delhi and Bangalore and provided a platform for young leaders to engage in meaningful dialogue, learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives, and build lasting relationships. The event aims to leave a mark on India-France relations for years to come.

19 Uzbekistan holds referendum on new constitution

Recently,   an overwhelming majority of  Uzbekistan ‘s voters voted in favor of President  Shavkat Mirziyoyev ‘s proposal to revise the country’s constitution   , which has pledged to grant more rights to citizens of the former Soviet republic. 90.21% of voters supported the changes, while 9.35% voted ‘no’. To be considered valid in Uzbekistan, at least 50% of voters must cast their ballot. The Election Commission declared the referendum valid as voters turned out in large numbers across the country.

20 TRAI issues recommendations on Ease of Doing Business in Telecom and Broadcasting

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has  recently   released its recommendations on ease of doing business in telecom and broadcasting sectors . TRAI has suggested the status of infrastructure for “Laying and Repairing Submerged Cables in the Broadcasting and Cable Sector and Indian Territorial Waters and Exclusive Economic Zones of India”. The regulator has also proposed that cable landing stations in India should be treated as “vital and essential services”.