1) Indian Commonwealth Day 2022
•Commonwealth Day is traditionally commemorated on the second Monday of March in most of the 54 countries of the Commonwealth, with the British queen delivering a speech on the radio. However, India and a few other countries celebrate it on May 24.
•The theme for Commonwealth Day 2022 is ‘Delivering a Common Future’ – which highlights how the fifty-four member countries in the Commonwealth family are ‘innovating, connecting and transforming’ to help attain goals like fighting climate change, promoting good governance, and improving trade.
2) UP launches ‘Sambhav’ portal for disposal of public grievances related to energy
•Minister for energy and urban development Arvind Sharma has launched the SAMBHAV (Systemic Administration Mechanism for Bringing Happiness and Value) portal for disposal of public grievances and monitoring programmes and schemes of the two departments in Uttar Pradesh. The portal, www.sambhav.up.gov.in, will work as a platform for flagging grievances received from the public to officers who have been provided login IDs. The officers will have to feed their response and action taken report (ATR).
3) India-Jordan struck an agreement to cooperate in fertilisers sector
•A high-level group led by Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya visited Jordan in a first-of-its-kind endeavor with the goal of securing fertilizers and raw materials for the short and long term. The visit took place against the backdrop of the current global fertilizer crisis. Dr. Mandaviya noted that the Jordan visit was historic in terms of assuring India’s supply of phosphoric and potassium fertilizers. Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya called Jordan as India’s chosen fertilizer partner during the meetings.
4) Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Health, addresses at the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva
•Mansukh Mandaviya, the Minister of Health, emphasized the need of creating a robust global supply chain to provide fair access to vaccines and medicines. The Minister, speaking at the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva, advocated for simplifying WHO’s vaccine and treatment approval procedures and strengthening WHO to establish a more robust global health security infrastructure. Mr. Mandaviya reaffirmed India’s commitment to strengthening the global health security framework.
5) India joins US Indo-Pacific economic plan
•India joined a dozen other nations to launch the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), a US-led trade initiative meant to counter China’s aggressive expansion in the region. Among the 13 countries backing the initiative are Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, and the members jointly account for 40% of the global GDP.
6) Jose Ramos-Horta sworn in as president of East Timor
•Former independence fighter and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Jose Ramos-Horta has been sworn in as president of East Timor (Timor-Leste) ahead of celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of independence for Asia’s youngest country. He defeated incumbent Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres, his fellow independence fighter, in the election. Ramos-Horta was prime minister from 2006 to 2007 and president from 2007 to 2012. East Timor is marking the 20th anniversary of independence for Asia’s youngest country.
7) Khadi commission Chief Vinai Kumar Saxena is Delhi’s new LG
•Vinai Kumar Saxena will be the new lieutenant governor of Delhi, President Ram Nath Kovind’s office announced. The President of India has been pleased to appoint Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena to be the Lt. Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi with effect from the date he assumes charge of his duties. The President of India has accepted the resignation of Anil Baijal as Lt. Governor National Capital Territory of Delhi.
8) India launching Project WARDEC AI-powered wargame centre
•The Army Training Command and Gandhinagar-based Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a Wargame Research and Development Centre in New Delhi. The project, dubbed ‘WARDEC’ as a prototype, will be India’s first simulation-based training centre, which will use artificial intelligence (AI) to create virtual reality wargames.
9) ONGC First Indian Exploration And Production Firm To Trade Domestic Gas
•The state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has become the first gas producer to sell domestic gas on the Indian Gas Exchange, exchanging unidentified amounts from the KG-DWN-98/2 block off the coast of India. ONGC stated in a statement that it will gradually raise output. ONGC has made history by becoming India’s first exploration and production (E&P) company to trade domestic gas on the Indian Gas Exchange.
10) J&K’s First National Film Festival, DIPR and NFDC sign a Memorandum of Understanding
•The National Film Festival of Jammu & Kashmir is approaching, the Department of Information and Public Relations of J&K signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Film Development Corporation Limited. The MoU was signed by Sh Akshay Labroo, Director, Department of Information and Public Relations, J&K, and Sh D. Ramakrishnan, General Manager, NFDC, in the presence of Sh Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor.
