♦ US tech giant Google has partnered with the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to launch YouTube channels in 29 Indian languages, including sign language.
♦ This initiative aims to provide free educational content to the Indian students between grades 1-12 and to empower teachers.
♦ Under this initiative, the NCERT will launch the YouTube channels and develop the educational content supported by Google.
♦ This collaboration offers learners the opportunity to explore and complete courses across a wide range of subjects, including pure sciences, literature, sports psychology, and rocket propulsion.
Posted Date: December 11, 2024International
♦ According to the findings of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) ‘World Malaria Report 2024’, India has demonstrated significant progress in reducing malaria cases and associated mortality in the country’s high-endemic states.
♦ India exited the HBHI [high-burden to high-impact] group officially in 2024 due to significant progress in reducing the malaria incidence and mortality observed in its high-endemic states, the report observed.
♦ According to the report, nationwide, the number of estimated malaria cases in India decreased from 6.4 million in 2017 (the year before the HBHI’s introduction) to 2 million cases in 2023 (69 percent decrease).
♦ Similarly, the estimated malaria deaths decreased from 11,100 to 3,500 (68 percent decrease) during the same period, report said.
♦ Globally, almost one in 10 children die from malaria each year.
Posted Date: December 20, 2024♦ India has become the 3rd largest exporter of smartphones in the world, which was on the 23rd rank in 2019.
♦ The country’s smartphone exports have also breached the Rs.20,000 crore mark in November 2024.
♦ Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw lauded this achievement and termed it a ‘Making Bharat Story’.
♦ According to industry associations’ data, the country’s smartphone exports were recorded at Rs.20,395 crore in November 2024, representing a staggering 92 percent increase over the same month last year (November 2023), when the figure was Rs.10634 crore.
♦ This achievement outshines the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme commitment to export 70-75 per cent of production value in the financial year 2024-25.
Posted Date: December 17, 2024♦ Britain became the first European nation to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on 15 December 2024. It officially became the 12th member of a trans-Pacific trade pact which includes Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
♦ The accession means Britain will be able to apply CPTPP trade rules and lower tariffs with eight of the 11 existing members from December 15 - Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
♦ CPTPP was established in 2018, the bloc safeguards against Chinese hegemony in the region, providing British companies access to a market of over 500 million people, contributing over 15% of the world’s GDP.
♦ Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili (53) became president of Georgia on 14 December 2024. 224 out of 225 members of Georgia's electoral college voted for him.
♦ He was elected to parliament in 2016 on the Georgian Dream ticket, and in 2022 co-founded the People’s Power political movement, which was allied with Georgian Dream and became known for its strong anti-Western rhetoric.
♦ Forbes has unveiled its 21st annual list of 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2024' on 13 December. Three Indian women are present on this list.
♦ Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman ranked 28th in this list. Roshni Nadar Malhotra who leads HCL Technologies and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw who drives Biocon’s US biopharmaceutical success featured at the 81st and 82nd spot on the list respectively.
♦ The top 3 spots on the list were held by - Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank; and Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy.
♦ The list is a ranking of influential figures from industries such as business, entertainment, politics, philanthropy and policymaking.
Posted Date: December 13, 2024♦ India and Nicaragua signed an umbrella agreement to implement Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) on 12 December 2024.
♦ The agreement was signed by Indian Ambassador to Panama, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, Sumit Seth, and Nicaragua’s Foreign Minister, Valdrack Jaentschke, in the capital city of Managua.
♦ The MoU aims to deliver tangible benefits to local communities in Nicaragua by focusing on key areas such as physical infrastructure—roads and community centers—as well as social infrastructure, including education, healthcare, and sanitation.
♦ The Government of India will provide grant assistance for each QIP under this framework, ensuring immediate and visible improvements for the people of Nicaragua.
♦ The relations between India and Nicaragua have remained warm and cooperative since the establishment of diplomatic ties in March 1983.
♦ While India’s Embassy in Panama is concurrently accredited to Nicaragua, Nicaragua’s Embassy in Tokyo is concurrently accredited to India.
Posted Date: December 12, 2024♦ The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2025 for sustainability has been released on 10 December 2024. According to the rankings, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has secured the top position among India varsities.
♦ It has grabbed the 171st rank globally and has secured 81.1 percentile in the Environmental Sustainability meter.
♦ The second position has been secured by IIT Kharagpur with rank 202 globally followed by IIT Bombay at third spot with rank 234.
♦ The University of Toronto (Canada) has grabbed the first spot. It has got 91 in Environmental Sustainability, 99.7 in Environmental Education, and 98.5 in Environmental Research.
♦ The second spot has been secured by ETH Zurich (Switzerland). Lund University Sweden and the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) both have secured rank three.
The full list of Indian institutes are:
♦ Rank 171 — Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD)
♦ Rank 202 — Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-KGP)
♦ Rank 234 — Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB)
♦ Rank 245 — Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK)
♦ Rank 277 — Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM)
♦ Rank 299 — University of Delhi
♦ Rank 376 — Indian Institute of Science
♦ Rank 396 — Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore, India
Posted Date: December 10, 2024♦ According to the UNCCD report, over 77.6% of Earth’s land experienced drier conditions during the three decades leading up to 2020 compared to the previous 30-year period. During the same period, global drylands expanded by approximately 4.3 million square kilometres — an area nearly a third larger than India — now covering more than 40 per cent of the Earth's land. The report was released at the 16th conference of the UNCCD in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 9 December 2024.
♦ Meanwhile, the number of people living in drylands has doubled to 2.3 billion over the past three decades.
♦ Models suggest that as many as 5 billion could inhabit drylands by 2100 in a worst-case climate change scenario.
Posted Date: December 9, 2024♦ Burkina Faso's military government has appointed Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo as Prime Minister of the country on 8 December 2024.
♦ He was communication minister and spokesman of the previous government. The junta in Burkina Faso seized power in September 2022 by ousting the military rule of Lt. Col.
♦ Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba about eight months after it staged a coup to remove democratically elected President Roch Marc Kaboré.
Posted Date: December 8, 2024♦ India was chosen to Chair the 68th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Vienna, Shambhu Kumaran officially assumed the Chairmanship of CND on 6 December 2024.
♦ The CND is the principal policy-making body of the United Nations on drug-related matters. It is mandated to monitor global drug trends, support Member States in formulating balanced policies, and oversee the implementation of the major international drug conventions.
♦ This is the first time that India has been named to Chair this important UN body.
♦ As Chair, India will be expected to articulate the interests of the Global South in line with its role in promoting interests and perspectives of developing nations in global discussions.
♦ India would also strive to build on the ongoing work of the CND to foster dialogue and understanding on drug policy issues.
Posted Date: December 6, 2024♦ India and Egypt held the 13th round of Foreign Office Consultations FOC in New Delhi on 5 December 2024.
♦ It was co-chaired by the Secretary (Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs) in the Ministry of External Affairs Arun Kumar Chatterjee from the Indian side and Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs Ambassador Ahmed Shaheen from the Egyptian side.
♦ The discussions reviewed the entire gamut of India-Egypt bilateral relations with a renewed commitment to strengthen the Strategic Partnership.
♦ Both sides also discussed avenues for further deepening of existing relations in political, economic, and socio-cultural areas.
♦ Both sides agreed to hold the next round of FOC in Egypt.
Posted Date: December 5, 2024♦ China has opened its first overseas atmospheric monitoring station in Antarctica as it continues to firm up its presence in the icy and resource-rich southernmost continent by building research stations.
♦ The station is located in Larsmann Hills in East Antarctica. The Zhongshan National Atmospheric Background Station aims to provide continuous and long-term observations of atmospheric components, contributing valuable data on climate change and the impact of human activity on the environment.
♦ In February 2024, China opened its Ross Sea scientific research station in Antarctica. It also has five other research stations in Antarctica that were built between 1985 and 2014.
Posted Date: December 4, 2024♦ External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar and Kuwait's Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al Yahya signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi on 4 December 2024 to establish a Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) at the level of foreign ministers.
♦ The agreement outlines the formation of new Joint Working Groups in sectors including trade, investment, education, technology, agriculture, security, and culture.
♦ These groups will operate under the JCC to review and monitor bilateral relations between the two nations.
Posted Date: December 4, 2024♦ Namibian Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was elected as the country's president. She secured more than 57 percent of the votes, while her closest rival, Panduleni Itula, garnered 26 percent in the recent elections.
♦ Netumbo became the first female president of Namibia.
♦ She is the leader of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO).
♦ SWAPO has been in power in the large but sparsely populated southern African country since independence in 1990.
Posted Date: December 3, 2024♦ Justice Murdu Nirupa Bindushini Fernando was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of Sri Lanka before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat on 2 December 2024.
♦ She became the 48th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka and the second woman to hold this position.
♦ Justice Fernando succeeds Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.
♦ Justice Fernando was joined the Attorney General’s Department in 1985, has held several key positions, including Solicitor General in 1997 and Additional Solicitor General in 2014. She was appointed to the Supreme Court in March 2018.
Posted Date: December 2, 2024♦ The 4th edition of India - Malaysia Joint Military Exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI commenced at Bentong camp, Pahang district, Malaysia on 2 December 2024.
♦ This exercise is an annual training event conducted alternatively in India and Malaysia. Last edition was conducted in November 2023 at Umroi Cantonment in Meghalaya, India.
♦ The aim of the Joint Exercise is to enhance joint military capability of both sides to undertake counter insurgency operations in jungle terrain under Chapter VII of the United Nations Mandate.
♦ The exercise will focus on operations in the jungle environment.
♦ The Exercise is scheduled to be conducted from 2nd to 15th December 2024.
Posted Date: December 2, 2024♦ US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American Kash Patel to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
♦ He served as chief of staff to the Acting United States Secretary of Defense in the last few weeks of the Trump Administration in 2017.
♦ New York-born Mr. Patel has his roots in Gujarat. However, his parents are from East Africa — mother from Tanzania and father from Uganda. They came to the U.S. from Canada in 1970.
♦ With this appointment, Patel became the second Indian American to be picked in his cabinet.
♦ Previously, Trump picked Indian-American scientist Jay Bhattacharya as the director of the National Institutes of Health, the country’s top health research and funding institutions.
Posted Date: December 1, 2024♦ The first edition of Joint Table Top Exercise - CINBAX, between the Indian and the Cambodian armies started at Foreign Training Node in Pune on 1 December 2024.
♦ The exercise aimed to wargame conduct of joint Counter Terrorism (CT) operations under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
♦ The exercise between the armies of two nations will be conducted in three phases. Phase-I will focus on preparations and orientation of participants for Counter-Terrorism operations during UN peace keeping missions. Phase-II will involve conduct of the Table Top exercises and Phase-III will involve finalisation of plans and summing up.
♦ The exercise will focus on discussions pertaining to establishment of Joint Training Task Force for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance besides planning of operations in Counter Terrorism environment.
♦ The exercise is concluded on 8 December 2024.
Posted Date: December 1, 2024