VISION

Vision IAS International Relations Mains 365 Hindi 2022 PDF

Vision IAS Social Issues Mains 365 English 2022 PDF

 Facts about India: India observes Independence Day on August 15th every year as a national holiday to remember the day the country gained its independence from the United Kingdom and the provisions of the 1947 Indian Independence Act, which gave the Indian Constituent Assembly legislative authority, went into force. Prior to adopting the Constitution of India on January 26, 1950 (also known as Indian Republic Day), which replaced the dominion prefix Dominion of India with the sovereign law Constitution of India, India continued to be ruled by King George VI. Following the Freedom Movement, known for its primarily nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience, India won independence.

So, This 75th Independence day, we have brought for you, 75 interesting, amazing facts about India.

Interesting Facts About India:

1. The wettest inhabited country on Earth is India. With 11,873 millilitres of rain falling annually, Meghalaya village has been named the wettest spot on Earth by the Guinness Book of World Records. Considering that the rain season lasts for six months.
2. Over 2 million Hindu temples and over 300,000 mosques can be found in India. Mosques can range in size from modest structures in tiny towns to enormous, well-known structures like the Jama Masjid in New Delhi or the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad. There are more than 23,000 temples in Varanasi alone, a holy city.
3. The highest motorable road in the world. The Ladakh road is the highest motorable road in the world at above 19,300 feet.
4. The glacial Lake Roopkund, which is 16,470 feet above sea level in the Himalayas, is known for the human bones that have been discovered there and nearby. The skeletons are considered to be the remains of persons who died in a strong hailstorm in the ninth century.
5. For around 1,000 years beginning in the fourth century BC, India was the world’s sole supplier of diamonds. The Krishna River Delta is where the initial diamonds were discovered.

Amazing Facts About India:

1)  World Organ Donation Day celebrates on 13th August

•World Organ Donation Day is observed globally on the 13th of August. This day is observed to spread awareness about the importance of donating organs. It also plays a pivotal role in debunking various misconceptions about donating organs. Donating organs of the deceased like kidneys, heart, pancreas, eyes, lungs, etc can help save the lives of those who are facing chronic illnesses. However, it is important to ensure those who donate their organs do not suffer from HIV, cancer, or any heart disease.

World Organ Donation Day 2022: Theme

•This year’s theme for World Organ Donation Day 2022 is “let’s pledge to donate organs and save lives”. The Day is celebrated to raise awareness of the need for donating organs and to thank donors for their life-saving contributions.

2)  International Lefthanders Day observed on 13th August

•International Lefthanders Day is observed on August 13 across the world. The day is observed to raise awareness about the lefty people’s experience with living in a right-hand dominant world. The day also spreads awareness on issues faced by left-handers, eg the importance of the special needs for left-handed children and the likelihood for left-handers to develop schizophrenia.

3)  IAF to Participate in Military Drills ‘Udarashakti’ with Malaysia

•Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent left for Malaysia to participate in a four-day bilateral exercise ‘Udarashakti’ with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). The exercise will give an opportunity to the IAF contingent members to share and learn best practices with some of the best professionals from the RMAF, while also discussing mutual combat capabilities.

•The exercise will witness various aerial combat drills between the two Air Forces, the IAF said, adding that it would fortify the long-standing bond of friendship and enhance the avenues of defence cooperation between the two Air Forces, thereby augmenting security in the region. From the Indian Air Force Su-30, MKI and C-17 aircraft will be participating while the RMAF will be flying Su-30 MKM aircraft.

4)  Reserve Bank Of India’s 1st Set Of Digital Lending Norms

•All digital loans must be disbursed and repaid through bank accounts of regulated entities only, without pass-through of loan service providers (LSPs) or other third parties, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its long-awaited guidelines for the segment.

•The guidelines, aimed at curbing rising malpractices in the digital lending ecosystem, follow the recommendations of a working group for digital lending, whose report was made public in November 2021. “The concerns primarily relate to the unbridled engagement of third parties, mis-selling, breach of data privacy, unfair business conduct, charging of exorbitant interest rates, and unethical recovery practices,” the RBI said in the final guidelines.

5)  5th elephant reserve in Agasthyamalai landscape announced by Tamil Nadu

•The proposal to designate 1,197.48 sq.km in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli as the Agasthiyarmalai Elephant Reserve was approved by the Union Environment Ministry. Tamil Nadu will oversee this Agasthiyarmalai Elephant Reserve, which is the fifth elephant reserve. The forest department may be eligible for additional financing through the centrally sponsored Project Elephant after notifying the Agasthiyarmalai Elephant Reserve.

6)  Ministry of Social Justice launches SMILE-75 initiative

•The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, has identified 75 Municipal Corporations to implement comprehensive rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of begging under “SMILE: Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise” named as “SMILE-75 Initiative”.

•The Government of India has recognised the persisting problem of destitution and beggary and formulated a comprehensive scheme of SMILE which includes a sub-scheme of comprehensive rehabilitation for persons engaged in begging that covers identification, rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, and education, skill development for a decent job and self-employment/entrepreneurship.

7)  Mexican President proposes peace commission led by 3 leaders including PM Modi

•The Mexican President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador has proposed that the top commission should include Pope Francis, the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and Indian PM Narendra Modi. The aim of the commission would be to present a proposal to stop the wars around the world and reach an agreement to seek a truce for at least five years. The commission aims to stop wars across the world and reach an agreement to seek a truce for at least five years.

•The Mexican President is planning to submit a written proposal to the UN to create the commission, made up of three world leaders, including PM Modi, to promote a world truce for a period of five years.

8)  IMD-UNDP and Japan collaborate for climate action in 10 States and UTs

•IMD-UNDP initiates a new project to speed up climate action in 10 States and Union Territories throughout the nation has been unveiled by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the government of Japan, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). During the years 2022–2023, the project of IMD-UNDP will be implemented in the following states: Bihar, Delhi–NCR, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. UNDP India has received a $5.16 million climate grant from Japan for the project of IMD-UNDP. This is a component of the worldwide assistance provided by Japan to 23 nations through the UNDP‘s “Climate Promise — From Pledge to Impact” initiative.

9)  Argentina’s Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Rios named UNMOGIP’s head

•An experienced Argentinean navy officer, Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Rios has been named Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres . Major General José Eladio Alcain of Uruguay steps down in favour of Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Rio of Argentina as Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for UNMOGIP, whose task is about to be completed. Major General Alcan was thanked by the Secretary-General for his assistance with UN peacekeeping activities.

10)  Retail Inflation Eases To 6.71% In July

•Retail inflation softened to 6.71 per cent in July due to moderation in food prices but remained above the Reserve Bank’s comfort level of 6 per cent for the seventh consecutive month. With retail inflation continuing to remain high despite a fall in prices of vegetables and edible oils, among other commodities in July, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) might go for another rate hike in September.

11)  1st edition of Women’s IPL to be held in March 2023

•The 1st Edition of  Women Indian Premier League will be starting from March 2023 to be held in a one-month window and in all likelihood with five teams, a senior BCCI official confirmed. The BCCI bigwigs have discussed the issue and a March window has been found for the tournament after the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.

•Both BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah in separate interviews had earlier confirmed that 2023 is the year when WIPL would start. A lot of cricket lovers believe that WIPL will bring in a revolution and the standard of women’s cricket in India will have a quantum leap. It is understood that teams like Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals, and Chennai Super Kings have all expressed their interest in buying teams.

Raus IAS Mains 2022 Compass Magazine Social Justice PDF

📰 Moving policy away from population control

 Why in news?

There have been talks that India had held its first political dialogue with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in December 2019.

What is NATO?

• The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or NATO, is a political and military alliance of 28 European countries and 2 countries in North America (United States and Canada).
• It was set up in 1949 by the US, Canada, and several western European nations to ensure their collective security against the Soviet Union.
• It was the US’s first peacetime military alliance outside the western hemisphere.
• NATO is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium while the headquarters of the Allied Command Operations is near Mons, Belgium.
• Collective defence is laid out in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty in which members of NATO are committed to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.

What are the origins of NATO?

1)  International Youth Day celebrates on 12th August

•International Youth Day is celebrated on 12 August every year. This day is celebrated to raise awareness regarding issues that are faced by the world’s youth. The objective of International Youth Day 2022 is to amplify the message that action is needed across all generations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leave no one behind. It will also raise awareness of certain barriers to intergenerational solidarity, notably ageism, which impacts young and old persons while having detrimental effects on society as a whole.

International Youth Day 2022: Theme

•The theme for 2022’s edition of International Youth Day is “Intergenerational solidarity: creating a world for all ages.” Cooperation and harmony between the youth and older generations is necessary to achieve sustainable development goals, as per Agenda 2030 of the United Nations (UN).

2)  World Elephant Day observed globally on 12 August

•World Elephant Day is celebrated on 12 August every year to raise awareness about the plight of elephants all over the world. The day tries to highlight why these animals should be protected and what laws and measures can be enacted to ensure their survival. The main objective of World Elephant Day is to create awareness on elephant conservation and to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better protection and management of wild and captive elephants.

3)  New Changes In The Atal Pension Yojana(APY)

•The Central government has brought a few changes to the Atal Pension Yojana, which was started with the aim of providing pension facilities to those working in the unorganised sector in 2015. And as a result, the Ministry of Finance has now decided not to allow income taxpayers to apply for the APY scheme. The new order issued by Finance Ministry will come into effect from October 1, 2022. According to the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Finance on August 10, any citizen who is or has been an income tax payer according to the Income Tax Act will not be eligible to join the Atal Pension Yojana from October 1, 2022.

4)  “UMEED Market Place” launched by Manoj Sinha as part of AVSAR Program

•UMEED Market Place as part of the AVSAR Scheme of the Airport Authority of India launched by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Srinagar International Airport in Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu Airport now has a marketplace that is comparable, and both locations will feature goods from all 20 districts, which is UMEED Market Place. The Lt. Governor previously unveiled a 20X20-foot LED video wall at the airport in Srinagar.

5)  In India, 7.3% Of The Population Owned Digital Currency in 2021

•Over seven percent of India’s population owns digital currency, according to the UN, which said the use of cryptocurrency rose globally at an unprecedented rate during the Covid-19 pandemic.

6)  Lumpi-ProVac: ICAR creates locally produced vaccine for cattle with lumpy disease

•ICAR develops Lumpi-ProVac, a locally made vaccine, for cattle with Lumpy skin disease. For veterinarians and cattle owners battling to stop the spread of lumpy skin disease among cattle in regions like Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Punjab, among others, there is encouraging news. Scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) announced that an indigenous vaccine against the Lumpy skin disease (Lumpi-ProVac), which had been developed since 2019 using viral strains obtained from Ranchi, has successfully finished field trials and is now prepared for commercial introduction.

7)  Singapore grants Padang, location of Netaji’s infamous Call “Chalo Dilli”

•The National Heritage Board stated that Padang (location of Netaji Subahs Chandra Bose‘s infamous Call “Chalo Dilli”) will now receive the Monument Status of Subas Chandra Bose and the greatest level of protection possible under Singapore’s Preservation of Monuments Act (NHB). On August 9, 2022, the country of Singapore celebrated its 57th National Day, and the Padang iconic green location was designated as the 75th national monument.

•Padang is a sizable open field venue in Singapore where, in July 1943, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose delivered the phrase “Delhi Chalo.” One of the oldest open spaces still in use today, Padang has significant national, historical, and social value. It is well-liked for athletic events like lawn bowling, cricket, football, and ice hockey.

8)  Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor to receive France’s highest civilian award

•Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, set to be conferred with France’s highest civilian award Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur. The French government is honouring him for his writings and speeches and the French Ambassador here Emmanuel Lenain has written to Tharoor informing him about the award. In 2010, Tharoor had received a similar honour from the Spanish government, when the King of Spain had bestowed upon him the Encomienda de la Real Order Espanola de Carlos III.

9)  Rishabh Pant appointed as the State Brand Ambassador of Uttarakhand

•Uttarakhand government has appointed wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as the ‘State Brand Ambassador’. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami congratulated Rishabh Pant and praised him as one of the best cricketers and idols of youth. Rishabh Pant’s most recent game was seen in India’s T20 series against New Zealand in which the Indian cricket team claimed the title of the series with a 3-0 victory.