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).