China opposes a joint resolution by the United States and India to designate Pakistani terrorist Abdul Rehman Makki as a global terrorist. | China has vetoed a joint request by the United States and India to designate Abdul Rehman Makki as a global terrorist subject to UNSC sanctions. This is less than a week before China hosts the 14th BRICS meeting on June 23rd. China has already placed technical delays on UN resolutions calling for Masood Azhar’s designation as a global terrorist. On June 1, the United States and India suggested that Makki be added to the Al-Qaeda and ISIL Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council. UNSC 1267 Body is another name for this committee. |
Gujarat is the first state in India to use the Balika Panchayat system. | Girls between the ages of 11 and 21 govern the Balika Panchayat. Balika Panchayat’s mission is to encourage females’ social and political growth. This is a project of the Gujarat Government’s Women and Child Development Welfare Department as part of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ programme. Balika Panchayat is a Kutch district effort that began around a year ago in four villages. Kunaria, Maska, Motagua, and Vadsar are the settlements in question. |
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari advocated establishing an Innovation Bank to improve infrastructure quality. | For fresh ideas, research discoveries, and technology, the Innovation Bank will be founded. It will place a premium on ‘quality’ when it comes to infrastructure development. He presented this recommendation during the Indian Roads Congress’s 222nd Mid-Term Council Meeting (IRC). Infrastructure development, he added, will be critical in transforming India into a $5 trillion economy. By 2025, the government plans to build a 2 lakh-kilometer National Highway network. In the previous eight years, the National Highway network has grown by 50%. With the support of greater technology, the government is dedicated to lowering building costs. |
The government raised the Agnipath recruiting scheme’s upper age limit from 21 to 23. | This age exemption is only valid for the 2022 recruiting cycle. This year, roughly 46 thousand young people will be recruited into the defence force under this programme. The young people chosen for the AGNIPATH programme will be known as ‘Agniveers.’ Agniveers who are not retained by their respective services after four years will get government aid in business, education, and other occupations, among other things. Each Agniveer would receive a financial package of Rs. 11.72 lakh. In addition, the government has established a 10% reservation for Agniveers in the CAPF and Assam Rifles. |
In Gujarat, Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone for development projects worth Rs 21,000 crores. | Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Gujarat on a two-day visit. In Vadodara, he took part in the Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan. Prime Minister Modi lay the foundation stone for a 357-kilometer section of the Dedicated Freight Corridor between New Palanpur and Madar, valued over Rs 16,000 crore. He also lay the cornerstone for the renovation of the stations of Surat, Udhna, Somnath, and Sabarmati. In the Kundhela hamlet in Dabhoi taluka, he lay the foundation stone for Gujarat Central University. He dedicated the renovated Shree Kalika Mata temple on Pavagadh Hill. PM Modi also announced the beginning of the ‘Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana.’ Pregnant and nursing moms will get 2 kilogramme of chickpeas, 1 kg of tur dal, and 1 kg of edible oil each month under this programme. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, he also dedicated a total of 1.38 lakh residences to beneficiaries. |
Gopi Chand Narang, a well-known Urdu scholar, died. | He was a well-known linguist, literary critic, and the former Chairman of the Sahitya Akademi. Both the Indian and Pakistani governments presented him with awards. In India, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, while in Pakistan, he was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence). He spent a lot of time discussing Ghalib’s, Mir Taqi Mir’s, and Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s writings. One of his most famous works is ‘Urdu Ghazal aur Hindustani Zehn-o Tahzeeb.’ In his career, he has published over 60 novels. He was also a Sanskrit and Persian scholar. |
On June 16, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari launched the Industrial Decarbonization Summit 2022. | New Delhi hosted the ‘Industrial Decarbonization Summit 2022’ (IDS-2022) – Road Map for Carbon Neutrality by 2070. Alternative fuels must be developed, according to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, to alleviate the problem of electricity shortages. He also stated that green hydrogen will be prioritised. Biomass may be converted into bioethanol, bio-LNG, or bio-CNG. Biotechnology can help boost biomass productivity. Methanol and ethanol use will aid in the reduction of pollutants in the environment. |
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has developed the country’s first official standard for grassroots innovation. | The benchmark has been set for Mansukhbhai Prajapati’s clay cooling cabinet “Mitticool” from Gujarat. This natural refrigerator’s cooling cabinet operates on the evaporative cooling method. These cabinets may keep perishable food products without the need of power. The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) proposed this novel technique, which was accepted by BIS as a new standard. “IS 17693: 2022″ is the new Indian Standard. Clay-based non-electric cooling cabinet.” This standard outlines the design and performance criteria for a natural refrigerator cooling cabinet constructed of clay. The standard assists BIS in meeting six of the 17 SDGs, including 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 5 (Gender Equality), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and 12 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) (Responsible consumption and production). This standard will aid innovation in trade and commerce facilitation, process improvement, product and service comparison, and other areas. The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIF) was founded in 2015 as an autonomous organisation under the Department of Science and Technology. The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016, established the Bureau of Indian Standards as a statutory agency under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. New Delhi is where the organization’s headquarters are located. |
On June 16, 2022, Union Minister of Steel Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh participated in an interactive meeting. | The purpose of this engagement meeting in Surat, Gujarat was to learn about the issues that the secondary steel business and steel customers in Gujarat confront. During the meeting, the Minister emphasised the need of creating the correct environment in order to achieve the aim of 300 million tonnes of steel manufacturing capacity by 2030. The Minister of Steel also paid a visit to the Diamond Bourse. This is the world’s largest business complex, with all diamond-related businesses housed under one roof. TMT bars made by Secondary Steel producers were employed in this complex to the tune of 54000 tonnes of steel. |
In terms of overall renewable power capacity additions, India is rated third in the world. | According to REN21’s Renewables 2022 Global Status Report, India’s renewable power capacity increase is third highest globally behind China and the United States (GSR). In 2021, India added 15.4 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity. China increased its capacity by 136 GW. The United States added 43 GW. According to the study, India increased its hydropower capacity by 843 MW. The entire capacity now stands at 45.3 GW. The second-largest market for new solar PV capacity in Asia was India. It was the world’s third-largest market. For the first time, India overtook Germany. In terms of total installed wind power capacity, India is rated third in the world. The analysis shows that the global percentage of renewables in final energy consumption has remained stable. This has risen very little from 10.6% in 2009 to 11.7 percent in 2019. Renewable energy capacity additions were insufficient to satisfy the 6% growth in electricity usage. The percentage of renewable energy in final energy consumption grew in heating and cooling. The GSR 2022 features a worldwide map of renewable energy shares by nation for the first time, as well as advances in top countries. Renewables 2022 Global Status Report (GSR) by REN21 is the world’s only crowd-sourced renewable energy report. The report for 2022 is the 17th edition. |
World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2022: 17 June 12. | Every year on June 17th, it is commemorated to raise public awareness of international efforts to battle desertification. “Rising up from drought together” is the theme of the International Day Against Desertification and Drought in 2022. Droughts are one of the most serious risks to world development. Droughts are expected to affect over 75% of the world’s population by 2050, according to estimates. Droughts affect around 55 million people worldwide each year. Droughts have grown by 29% in number and length since 2000, according to WMO Data 2021, compared to the previous two decades. Between 1900 and 2019, droughts affected 2.7 billion people throughout the world, resulting in 11.7 million fatalities. According to UNICEF, by 2040, the majority of people, including one out of every four children, would be living in places with severe water shortages. No country is immune to drought, according to UN-Water 2021. India is working to meet its national target of attaining Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030 and repairing 26 million hectares of damaged land. In September 2019, India hosted the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP-14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. The deterioration of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid environments is known as desertification. Human activity and climate fluctuations are the primary causes. Desertification does not imply that current deserts will expand. It is the result of dryland overexploitation and unsuitable land use. Poverty, political unrest, deforestation, overgrazing, and poor irrigation techniques may all reduce land production. |
Mission Amrit Sarovar builds 100 ponds in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian area. | On April 24, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Mission Amrit Sarovar to save water for future generations. Under the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav,” the programme intends to build and rehabilitate 75 water sources in each district of India. Under the mission, six ministries/departments will work together: the Department of Rural Development, the Department of Land Resources, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the Department of Water Resources, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and the Ministry of Environment. The Technical Partner for the Mission is Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Application and Geoinformatics (BISAG-N). By the 15th of August 2023, the Mission Amrit Sarovar will be finished. Around 50,000 Amrit Sarovars with an area of around 1 acre and a water storage capacity of 10,000 cubic metres might be built. |
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is likely to be led by Arati Prabhakar. | Eric Lander will be succeeded by Arati Prabhakar. She is a physicist from India. She is scheduled to become US Vice President Joe Biden’s Science Advisor. She was born in the country of India. She will also be in charge of President Biden’s cancer moonshot effort, which aims to accelerate cancer research. If the Senate confirms her nomination, she will be the first woman and the first person of colour (non-white) to serve as the President of the United States’ science adviser. Arati Prabhakar’s previous positions include: In 1993, the Clinton administration chose her to lead the National Institute of Standards and Technology. She was chosen by the Obama administration to manage the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. |
At the Asia Oceania Open Championships, Manpreet Kaur and Parmjeet Kumar won bronze medals. | They are para-powerlifters from India. On the first day of the World Para-Powerlifting 2022 Asia Oceania Open Championships in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, they earned medals. In the 41 kg division, Manpreet Kaur took bronze. Parmjeet Kumar won bronze in the 49 kg division in the men’s competition. In two rounds, Paramjeet lifted 160 and 163 kg, which is his highest performance to far. |