NATIONAL:
1. "Abundance in Millets” Song
Why in news - PM Modi collaborated with Grammy-winning singer Falguni Shah for song on millets.
Key Points –
• Performed by - Falguni Shah (Mumbai-born singer-songwriter) and vocalist Gaurav Shah.
• 2023 – Declared as "International Year of Millets" by UN General Assembly at the request of India.
• Falguni Shah won the Grammy for Best Children's Album in 2022 for her album “A Colourful World”.
Value Addition –
• Consumed during the Indus Valley civilization.
• One of the first crops to be domesticated in India.
• Currently grown in more than 130 countries.
• Staple diet for more than 500 million people in Asia and Africa.
INTERNATIONAL:
1. World Bank Road Safety Project
Why in news - The World Bank (WB) launched its first dedicated road safety project in South Asia.
Key Points –
• USD 358 million financing agreement was signed in Dhaka with the government of Bangladesh.
• Aim - to improve road safety and reduce fatalities and injuries from road crashes.
• Target - halve road crash deaths by 2030.
• Pilot Project - two national highways of Bangladesh
(a) Gazipur-Elenga (N4)
(b) Natore-Nawabganj (N6)
Value Addition –
• With just 10% of the world’s vehicles, South Asia accounts for over 25% of the world’s crash fatalities.
2. Honouring Fallen Peacekeepers
Why in news - The UN General Assembly has adopted a draft resolution to establish a memorial wall to honor fallen peacekeepers.
Key Points –
• Resolution title – “Memorial wall for fallen United Nations peacekeepers”.
• Introduced by – India.
• Co-sponsored by nearly 190 UN Member States and was adopted by consensus.
• In 2015, India launched a virtual memorial wall dedicated to the Indian peacekeepers who made the supreme sacrifice.
3. USA to rejoin UNESCO
Why in news - The United States of America announced its intention to rejoin UNESCO in July 2023.
Key Points –
• Reason for return - China filling the gap left by the US in UNESCO policy making.
• USA (along with Israel) left the UNESCO on December 31, 2018.
• UNESCO inducted Palestine as a member in 2011. USA halted the agency’s funding.
• USA previously pulled out of UNESCO under the Ronald Reagan administration in 1984. (rejoined in 2003).
About UNESCO (Hq - Paris) –
• UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
• Specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
• Also a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG).
• 3 UNESCO members but not UN members - Cook Islands, Niue, and Palestine.
• Director-General of UNESCO - Audrey Azoulay.
• USA was a founding member of UNESCO in 1945.
SCIENCE – TECH:
1. Mobile Air Pollution Monitoring
Why in news - IIT Madras researchers developed data science & IoT-based method for mobile air pollution monitoring.
Key Points –
• Pollution sensors mounted on public vehicles (incl 2 wheelers) can dynamically monitor the air quality of an extended area.
• Currently - air quality stations are at fixed locations and measure the air quality of a small geographic area.
• Features –
(a) Measure - PM1, PM2.5, PM10 and gasses such as NOx and SOx.
(b) Assess road roughness, potholes and UV index among others.
2. Betelgeuse
Why in news - Red giant star Betelgeuse is in its late carbon-burning stage (near the end of its life).
• It may explode as a supernova within a few decades.
• It is known as “Thiruvathirai” or “Ardra” in Indian astronomy.
• It is easily visible (naked eye) in the Orion constellation.
• A red giant star is a large, ageing star that has expanded and cooled down, causing it to appear red in colour.
Dying of Star –
• Stars exhaust their hydrogen fuel and transition to using helium to create carbon.
• The energy released during helium fusion is lower than that of hydrogen.
• Eventually, the helium is depleted, leading to the star’s progression through various burning stages, including carbon and silicon burning.
AWARDS & HONOURS:
1. Elizabeth Longford Prize 2023
Why in news - Historian Ramachandra Guha’s book wins Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography 2023.
Key Points –
• Book - Rebels against the Raj: Western Fighters for India’s Freedom.
• Book is mainly about white Brits who were severely punished for going against the British establishment of their day to give their all for Indian independence.
• Published by William Collins.
• Guha also received a bound copy of Longford’s autobiography, The Pebbled Shore (1986).
RANKS & INDICES:
1. 5th Global Slavery Index 2023
Why in news – The index was prepared by Walk Free, a human rights organization.
Key Points –
• It presents a global picture of modern slavery.
• Modern slavery - Forced labour, forced marriage, debt bondage, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, slavery-like practices and exploitation of children.
• SDG 8 - Decent work and economic growth. (Target 8.7 - end modern slavery and human trafficking).
• Prevalence (incidence per 1000 population) –
(a) Most - North Korea, Eritrea, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Turkey.
(b) Least - Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden.
• Countries with maximum number of people living in modern slavery - India, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia.
• Data provided by - Global Estimates of Modern Slavery (data produced by ILO, Walk Free, and International Organization for Migration).
IMPORTANT DAYS:
1. World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
Why in news – It is marked every year on June 17 to restore degraded land.
Key Points –
• Theme - "Her land. Her rights".
• By 2050 droughts may affect over 3-quarters of the world’s population.
• The number and duration of droughts has increased by 29% since 2000.
• More than 2.3 billion people already facing water stress.
• In India, 12 million hectares are lost (23 hectares per minute) due to drought and desertification each year.
Value Addition –
• Global Efforts –
(a) United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD, 1994) - Only legally binding framework set up to address desertification and the effects of drought.
(b) Bonn Challenge - Global goal to bring 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes into restoration by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030.
• India’s Efforts –
(a) Aim - to achieve land degradation neutral status by 2030.
(b) To restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
FESTIVALS:
1. Palkhi Festival
Why in news – G20 delegates in Pune got a first-hand glimpse of the Warkari community’s Palkhi festival.
Key Points –
• Annual pilgrimage (yatra) to Pandharpur, the seat of the Hindu god Vithoba in Maharashtra.
• The whole process lasts a total of 22 days.
• Upon reaching Pandharpur on Ashadi Ekadashi, these devotees take a holy dip in the sacred Chandrabhaga River/Bhima River before proceeding to visit the Vitthal temple.
Value Addition –
• 800-year tradition.
• Saints associated - Sant Dnyaneshwar, Sant Tukaram etc.
• Narayan Baba, the youngest son of Tukaram introducing the Palkhi in 1685.
• Warkari is a Hindu religious sect that worships Vithoba (or Vitthal), an incarnation of Krishna.
BIHAR:
1. Ghariyal Hatchlings
Why in news – 125 gharial hatchlings were released in the Gandak River in West Champaran on World Crocodile Day (June 17).
Key Points –
• As per Wildlife Trust of India, 9 gharial nests were discovered in 2023 (2022 - 5).
• Gharial nests - West Champaran (8) and Kushinagar, UP (1).
• The Gandak River was identified as a nesting habitat of critically endangered gharials for the first time in 2016.
• Gandak has the 2nd largest gharial population after the Chambal River.
2. Governer – Government Tussle
Why in news – Government opposed Governer’s decree for 4-year degree course.
Key Points –
• Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who is also the chancellor of state universities want to implement the 4-year graduation programme with choice based credit system (CBCS).
• None of the Bihar universities had managed to implement the CBCS and semester system at the undergraduate level.
POINTERS:
• The first ever Hindu American Summit was held at which place - US Capitol (seat of the US government).
• Who addressed the plenary session of the 111th International Labor Conference in Geneva - Bhupendra Yadav.
• Wihu Kuh Festival was celebrated by which tribe - Angsa tribe.
• How many castes from six states are likely to be added to the central list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) - About 80.
• 22nd Law Commission sought opinion from public and religious organizations on which subject - Uniform Civil Code.
• Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off which country’s first Agri- SEZ project from New Delhi – Gabon.
• As per U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR), the number of people forcibly displaced around the world has climbed to - 110 million people.
• India is participating at the Annecy International Animation Festival (AIAF) for the first time of which country – France.
• India has achieved an all-time high exports of seafood both in terms of volume and value worth what rupees during financial year 2022-23 - Over 63,969 crore rupees.
• Indian team comprising how many members has left for Berlin, Germany to compete at the Special Olympics Summer Games - 280 members (198 athletes).