NATIONAL:
1. School-to-Work Transition
Why in news – M/o Education and World Bank organized a workshop on School-to-Work Transition under the STARS Program in Mumbai.
Key Points –
• Focus - Discussion on a Skill Gap analysis of the 6 STARS States and Uttar Pradesh.
• 6 STARS states - Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
About STARS Program (14th Oct 2020)-
• STARS - Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States.
• By - Ministry of Education.
• Financial support - World Bank.
• Total project cost - Rs 5718 crore (World Bank - US $ 500 million or Rs. 3700 crore).
• Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Aim – To improve the overall monitoring and measurement activities in the Indian school education system through interventions in selected states.
• Instrumental in the implementation of National Education Policy 2020.
2. National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP)
Why in news- Home Minister Amit Shah laid foundation stone of the National Coastal Police Academy in Okha, Dwarka (GJ).
Key Points-
• Purpose - National training institute for personnel involved in maritime security.
• Jakhau coast is located in Kutch district.
• India has 3 tier coastal security architecture.
INTERNATIONAL:
1. Special Tourism Year
Why in news – Nepal has announced 2025 as a “special tourism year”.
Key Points –
• Decade of the 2080s (Bikram Samvat calendar) - Visit Nepal decade.
• Samarmatha Special Honour – For foreign nationals for their role in promotion of Nepal's art, culture, language and literature in the international arena.
2. International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN)
Why in news - World Health Organization (WHO) launched global network IPSN to detect and prevent infectious disease threats.
Key Points –
• IPSN would provide a platform to connect countries, improving systems for collecting and analyzing samples and sharing that information more broadly.
• Host - WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence.
• WHO Director-General - Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
ECONOMY:
1. International Gemological Institute (IGI)
Why in news - Global private equity giant Blackstone announced the acquisition of IGI at an enterprise value of over USD 525 million.
Key Points –
• Blackstone has fully acquired IGI from China’s Fosun and the company’s founding family.
• IGI is a jewellery certification firm.
• IGI’s majority revenue and profits come from India.
• India is the world's largest cutting and polishing centre of rough diamonds.
• IGI hq - Antwerp, Belgium.
ENVIRONMENT:
1. Sustainable Land Management
Why in news - Bhupender Yadav Inaugurated Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management (CoE-SLM).
Key Points –
• Location - Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Dehradun.
• Aim - to promote South-South Cooperation and address land degradation issues.
• Under - Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• It was announced at COP-14 of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on September 9, 2019.
Value Addition-
• SDG 15.3 - Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil (SDG 15 - Life on land).
• India aims to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) and restoration of 26 Million ha of degraded land by 2030.
• UNCCD (1994) - To protect and restore our land and ensure a safer, just, and more sustainable future.
• Bonn Challenge (2011) - to bring 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes into restoration by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030.
• Great Green Wall Initiative (2017) - To restore 100 million hectares of degraded land; sequester 250 million tons of carbon and create 10 million green jobs by 2030 in Sahel region (Africa).
SUMMITS & CONFERENCES:
1. G20 3rd Tourism Working Group Meeting
Why in news - About 60 foreign delegates arrived in Srinagar for the meeting of the G20 countries (May 22 to 24, 2023).
Key Points –
• The first G20 tourism working group meeting was held in Gujarat and the second in West Bengal.
• China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Oman skipped G20 tourism meet in Kashmir.
• This is the first international meeting being held in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state in August 2019.
Value Addition –
• Highest number of tourists (18.8 million) arrived in J&K in 2022.
• Zabarwan Range - A short sub-mountain range between Pir Panjal and Great Himalayan Range in the central part of the Kashmir Valley.
SECURITY:
1. 2nd AL-MOHED AL-HINDI 2023
Why in news - INS Tarkash and INS Subhadra arrived at Port Al-Jubail in Saudi Arabia to participate in the exercise.
Key Points –
• Bilateral maritime exercise between India and Saudi Arabia.
• Inaugural Edition – 2021.
IMPORTANT DAYS:
1. World Metrology Day 2023
Why in news – It is celebrated on May 20 each year.
Key Points –
• It commemorates the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention on May 20, 1875 in Paris.
• Theme - Measurements supporting the global food system.
Value Addition -
• Metre Convention – It established the basis for international agreement on units of measurement.
• It founded the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) and a unified system of measurement.
• Standard unit of mass - International Prototype of the Kilogramme (IPK).
• Standard unit of length - International Prototype of the Metre (IPM).
2. National Anti-Terrorism Day
Why in news – It is observed throughout the country on May 21.
Key Points –
• May 21, 1991 - Former PM Rajiv Gandhi (6th and youngest PM of India) was assassinated by an LTTE terrorist in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
• VP Singh's government announced that 21 May would be observed as Anti-Terrorism Day.
• Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was fighting for an independent homeland for the Tamils in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.
BIHAR:
1. National Water Awards 2022
Why in news – Union Jal shakti ministry has Bihar rated as the 3rd best state in country in water conservation.
Key Points –
• Bihar has been included in the category of the “Best states” for making exemplary performance in water conservation and management of its water resources.
• Recognition of use of technology in water conservation –
(a) Lifting Ganga flood water from Mokama (Patna) and carry it over 151 km through a pipeline to provide safe drinking water to every household in the water-starved Gaya, Bodh Gaya and Rajgir.
(b) Use of floodwater that otherwise used to go in waste every year.
• 7 Other Water Conservation Schemes –
POINTERS:
• PM Modi gave a 10 point call to action at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima to improve global security of which product – Food.
• Telangana Police launched which initiative towards making workplaces safer for women – SAHAS.
• Which became the first state in the country to approve Good Governance Regulations – Maharashtra.
• Which has become the first state to provide air travel facility to senior citizens for pilgrimage - Madhya Pradesh.
• According to a CBDT announcement, interest received under which scheme would not be subject to TDS - Mahila Samman Certificate program.
• Who has been appointed as new Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) Chairman - AK Jain.
• Which Indian city ranked 6th among 46 cities globally in terms of annual price growth of high-end residential properties with appreciation of 5.5% - Mumbai.