Latest Current Affairs For Monday 8th May, 2023

Border Roads Organisation Project Dantak 64th Raising Day

The Prime Minister has praised the initiative by Border Roads Organisation Project Dantak to commemorate 64th Raising Day.

About Project Dantak:

Project Dantak is one of the oldest projects of the Border Roads Organization (BRO).

It was established on 24th April1961.

It was a result of the visionary leadership of the King of Bhutan and Jawahar Lal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India.

It was established under the provision of the Indo-Bhutan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1949.

The project is playing a major role in identifying the most important aspects of connectivity and promoting the socio-economic growth and development of Bhutan.

It is tasked with the construction and maintenance of roads suitable for motorized transport in Bhutan.

About Border Roads Organisation (BRO)

BRO, a pioneer in the field of infrastructural development in the border areas of the country.

BRO is a major road construction agency under the Ministry of Defence with the primary objective of providing road connectivity to the border areas.

BRO was formed on 7th May 1960.

It develops and maintains the road network in India's border areas and friendly neighbouring countries.

This includes operating infrastructure in 19 states and three union territories (including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands) and neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Tajikistan and Sri Lanka.

One of the biggest infrastructural achievements of BRO - longest highway tunnel built in Himachal Pradesh, and its name is Atal Tunnel.

Atal tunnel under Rohtang Pass is an 8.8-kilometer-long tunnel.

This will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kmsand will save on transportation costs.

Director General of BRO - Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhary. 

Border Haat between India and Bangladesh inaugurated at Bholaganj in Sylhet

On 6 May a newborder-haat was inaugurated between India and Bangladesh at Bholaganj under Companyganj Upazila of Sylhet.

An overview:

Bangladesh's Minister for Migrant Welfare and Overseas Employment Imran Ahmed and India's Assistant High Commissioner Neeraj Kumar Jaiswal jointly inaugurated the border-haat.

The opening of the border haat at Bholaganj on theborder between Sylhet in Bangladesh and the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya was greeted with great enthusiasm by people on both sides of the border.

This is the fourth border haat in Sylhet division, out of which three are currently functioning. There are plans to open three more border haats in Sylhet division.

The Border Haat will open from 10 am to 4 pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The Bholaganj Border Haat will have 26 stalls from India and 24 stalls from Bangladesh, where traditional items from both the countries will be sold duty free.

Thefirst border haats were inaugurated in 2011 at Kalaichar in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya and Kurigram in Bangladesh.

World Athletics Day: 07 May

World Athletics Day is celebrated every year on 07 May to make people aware of the importance of fitness.

The theme for World Athletics Day 2023 is “Athletics for All – A New Beginning”.

World Athletics Day was for the first time celebrated in 1996.

It was launched by Primo Nebiolo, best known as the former President of the World Athletics.

World Athletics was known as International Amateur Athletic Federation till 2001 and the International Association of Athletics Federations from 2001 to 2019.

In 2019, the name was changed to World Athletics.

World Athletics was founded in 1912 in Stockholm, Sweden. It is headquartered in Monaco.

The coronation of Charles III and his wife Camilla as king and queen took place on 6 May 2023 in London.

Their coronation as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place at Westminster Abbey, London.

Their coronation is the first of a British monarch in the 21st century.

The coronation took place in a ceremony which was attended by thousands of guests including foreign leaders.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar represented India at the ceremonial event.

On 08 September 2022, Charles acceded to the throne upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II.

Elizabeth II was queen from 1952 until her death in 2022. Her reign was the longest of any British monarch.

Her reign was the longest verified reign of any female head of state in history.

Elizabeth II ascended to the throne after the death of her father, King George VI.

Buckingham Palace is located in the city of Westminster. It is the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom.

On 6 May, INS Magar decommissioned after 36 years of glorious service.

INS Magar, the first amphibious warfare ship, was finally decommissioned after 36 years of service to the nation.

The decommissioning ceremony of the INS Magar, carrying the naval designation of Landing Ship Tank (LST), Large (L) for its ability to carry tanks and other weapons, was held at Southern Naval Command, Kochi, on 6 May.

The chief guest for the event was Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande.

On April 10, 2018, the ship changed its base port to Kochi from Vishakhapatnam for training sea officers, after decades of active operational deployment.

INS Magar was built by the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and was commissioned on July 15, 1987.

INS Magar is 120 metres long and has a beam of 17.5 metres. It was deployed for milestone operations like Operation Pawan to support Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka.

INS Magar also served as Humanitarian Aid Disaster Response (HADR), the latest operation was the evacuation of Indians from Malé (capital of Maldives) in 2020 following the Covid pandemic.

But, the most notable operation was in the wake of the 2004 tsunami, in which the ship provided relief to more than 1,300 survivors.

A new Directorate of Minority Affairs has been formed by Nagaland Govt under Planning & Transformation Department.

Under the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, the new directorate will manage various schemes and programs related to educational, economic, infrastructural and special needs of minorities.

The state cabinet has approved the move on 6 April.

The Directorate of Minority Affairs will deal with scholarship schemes like pre-matric, post-matric and merit-cum-means.

The new Directorate will take on additional educational programmes including the Maulana Azad National Fellowship, Naya Savera, Padho Pardesh, and Nai Udaan, which provide free coaching and interest subsidies on educational loans for abroad studies.

It will implement skill training schemes for economic development of minorities such as Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan, Nai Manzil and concessional credit.

For development of infrastructure projects in all districts, the Directorate will also manage the Pradhan Mantri Jan Yikas Karyakram.

In addition, it will be tasked with providing support to institutions such as the Maulana Azad Education Foundation and the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation.

The new Directorate would also be in charge of research, monitoring, and evaluation of development plans as well as other schemes for special needs of minorities including Nai Roshni, Hamari Dharohar, Haj management.

PM Narendra Modi to be awarded prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award 2023

The Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) would confer the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2023 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pune on August 1, 2023.

Reason: This award recognizes PM Modi's supreme leadership under which India has climbed the ladder of progress

It is presented annually on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak's death anniversary.

Other awardees: Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sharad Pawar, Cyrus Poonawalla, and Manmohan Singh. 

J&K Bank wins award for Best Performance in CASA

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has been felicitated for the Best Performance in CASA-India (1st Runner up in Small Bank Category) at ICC Emerging Asia Banking Conclave & Awards 2022.

The event was participated by banks from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Myanmar.

The function was organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Goa.

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in Calcutta.

India poised to become world’s 2nd-largest economy by 2075: Goldman Sachs

According to the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075.

As per the report, India would cross Japan, Germany, and the US With a population of 1.4 billion people.

India’s GDP is estimated to expand remarkably, reaching 52.5 trillion dollars surpassing the US GDP projection.

The labour force participation set to make India the second-largest economy in the world by 2075.

L&T and Spain's Navantia sign agreement for submarine project

L&T has signed a teaming agreement with Spanish-based Navantia for the submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

P75 (India) Submarine Project is expected to be valued at €4.8 billion.

Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines.

The first S80 class submarine was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy. 

India overtakes China as most attractive emerging market for investing

According to a study by Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management, India has overtaken China to become the most attractive emerging market for investing in sovereign wealth funds this year.

Reason: This is due to its solid demographics, political stability, and proactive regulation. 

Positives for the nation also include the rapidly expanding demography, strong regulatory actions, and a welcoming climate for sovereign investors.

World Population Day 2023: 11 July

World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 in order to raise awareness about global population issues, including population control.

2023 theme: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities. 

It was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, after the day the world approximately reached a population of five billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

MoHUA conducts SBM-U 2.0 Planning & Implementation Review-cum-Workshop

The Housing Ministry organized a review-cum-workshop to evaluate and accelerate the planning and implementation of the SBM-Urban 2.0.

PM Modi launched the 2.0 versions of SBM-U and AMRUT on October 1, 2021.

SBM-U 2.0: Achieving 100% waste segregation in all households and premises and 100% door-to-door collection of segregated waste from each. 

AMRUT 2.0: To provide complete coverage of water supply to all households and sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. 

Gujarat CM launches pilot project of ‘Antyodaya Shramik Suraksha Yojana’

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme from Kheda

All those registered under the e-Shram portal from Nadiad will benefit from the scheme.

It is being implemented through the Indian Postal Department, the IPPB, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of Rs. 289 and Rs. 499 per year will be a big support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.

OCA elects Sheikh Talal as the new President

Kuwait’s Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah has been elected as the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He replaced his older brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the OCA for 30 years until 2021.

The OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who led it until 1990.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance wins Insurer Innovation Award 2023

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has won the Insurer Innovation Award 2023 for the APAC region at the 8th World Digital Insurance Awards, hosted by TDI - The Digital Insurer.

Recognition: Bajaj Allianz Life's ground-breaking WhatsApp Conversational Platform - empowering customers to digitally services their policies seamlessly. 

The award entries were shortlisted by industry experts and the winner was selected by the community through pre-voting and live event voting.