WHY IN THE NEWS?

• In India, the National Education Day is celebrated on 11 November every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of independent India.
• The day was announced by the Ministry of Human Resource Development on 11 September 2008. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad served as education minister from 15 August 1947 to 2 February 1958.
• On 11 September 2008, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has announced to commemorate the birthday of the great person by recalling the contribution of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in the field of education by celebrating 11 November as National Education Day.
• Since 2008, every year in India, National Education Day is celebrated without declaring it a holiday.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar has been named as the next Chief of the Naval Staff by the Government of India. He is presently posted as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command.
• He will take on the new role with effect from November 30, 2021. He will replace the incumbent Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Karambir Singh, who will complete his tenure on November 30, 2021.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The government has announced the appointment of chiefs of two key Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). These are the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
• Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau Sheel Vardhan Singh has been appointed as the new CISF DG, while National Police Academy Director Atul Karwal has been appointed as the NDRF DG.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for appointments.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The Punjab Cabinet headed by chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi approved the ‘Punjab Tissue Culture Based Seed Potato Rules-2021’ to develop Punjab as a standard potato seed centre.
• With this decision, Punjab has become the first Indian state to have the facility of tissue culture-based certification, which will develop the Jalandhar-Kapurthala belt of Punjab as the export hub of potatoes.
• The Cabinet also approved to introduce the ‘Punjab Horticulture Nursery Bill-2021’ by amending ‘Punjab Fruit Nursery Act-1961‘.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Sankalp Gupta has become India’s 71st Grandmaster by scoring 6.5 points and finishing second in the GM Ask 3 round-robin event in Arandjelovac, Serbia.
• The Maharashtra player also touched the 2500 Elo rating mark during the tournament. To achieve the GM title, a player has to secure three GM norms and cross the live rating of 2,500 Elo points.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• China has launched the world’s first Earth-science satellite, Guangmu or SDGSAT-1 into space from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern Shanxi Province.
• The satellite was launched by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and developed by the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS).
• Guangmu was launched by a Long March-6 carrier rocket which is the 395th flight mission. SDGSAT-1 is the first satellite customized according to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which was adopted in 2015 with 17 SDGs for peace and prosperity.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

On November 10, 2021, Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved the declaration of November 15 as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.

• The day was declared as a part of a year-long celebration of 75 years of India’s independence, in a bid to commemorate brave tribal freedom fighters.
• November 15 also marks the birth anniversary date of Birsa Munda who is considered as God by tribal communities across India.
• Birsa Munda had made significant contributions to India’s Independence by fighting against an exploitative system of the British colonial system.
• He belonged to the Munda tribe and spearheaded an Indian tribal religious Millenarian movement in the late 19th century across the tribal belt of present-day Bihar and Jharkhand.

The Janjatiya Gaurav Divas                       

The Janjatiya Gaurav Divas will be observed to commemorate tribal freedom fighters. It will make the coming generations aware of sacrifices made by tribal freedom fighters during India’s independence movement. The day will be celebrated every year to recognize the efforts made by tribals in preserving cultural heritage and promoting Indian values of national pride & hospitality.

Significance of the Day

The Janjatiya Gaurav Divas will acknowledge the cultural heritage and glorious history of tribal communities.

How this day will be celebrated?

• To mark this day, the Indian government will launch a week-long celebration to commemorate 75 years of the history of tribal people. It will start on November 15 and will conclude on November 22, 2021.
• Central and State government will organize several activities as a part of the celebration.
• The theme of each activity will showcase the achievements of tribals in the Indian Freedom Struggle.
• The government will undertake several initiatives in health, education, skill development, livelihood, and infrastructure.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

World Science Day for Peace and Development is observed on November 10, every year to highlight the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives.

About:

• The day highlights the role of science in society and the need to engage the public in debates & discussions on important scientific issues.
• It is observed with the aim of ensuring that citizens are kept informed of developments in science.
• It notes the role played by scientists in broadening our understanding of the remarkable, fragile planets and in making our societies more sustainable.
• The primary objective of the day is to bring science closer to society by highlighting its key aspects.

The theme of the Day

The World Science Day 2021 was observed with the theme- ‘Building Climate-Ready Communities’.

History of the Day

UNESCO had proclaimed this day in 2001. Following this, the first World Science Day for Peace & Development was observed across the world on November 10, 2002, under UNESCO. The establishment of this day was the positive outcome of 1999 World Conference on Science in Budapest. This has generated many concrete projects, programs, and funding for science worldwide.

National Science Day

On the line of World Science Day, India observes National Science Day every year on February 28. It commemorates the discovery of Raman Effect by Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. For Raman Effect, he has been awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930. The first National science day was celebrated in 1987. In 2021, the day was observed under the theme: ‘Future of STI (Science, Technology and Innovations)- Impacts on Education, Skills and Work’.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

United States of America (USA) became the 101st member country to join International Solar Alliance (ISA).

About:

• USA joined ISA as a member country to accelerate the global adoption of solar energy.
• This announcement was made at UNFCCC COP26 on November 10, 2021.
• Now, USA will catalyse global energy transition through a solar-led approach.

International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework

The ISA framework was first circulated in 2016 for the support of countries. It emphasises delivering global relevance and local benefit through collaborations for all countries.  Key interventions of ISA will focus on readiness and enabling activities, innovative financing instruments and risk mitigation in order to facilitate the promotion and deployment of solar technologies.

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

ISA is an alliance of 124 countries. It was initiated by India. Most of the member countries are sunshine countries, lying either partly or completely between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. This alliance was launched with the objective of working for efficient consumption of solar energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. It was first proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2015. It is a treaty-based inter-governmental organization. It is the largest grouping of states across the world.

Who can join the alliance?

Countries that do not lie within the Tropics can also join ISA and enjoy all benefits as other members. However, they do not get voting rights.

Headquarter of ISA

ISA is headquartered in Gurugram, India. Its foundation stone was laid by Narendra Modi, and French President Francois Hollande in 2016.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

A regional security summit was hosted by India on November 10, 2021. The summit was attended by eight nations including Iran and Russia.

About:

• The conference was represented by the national security advisors of each country.
• During the conference, it was announced that Afghanistan & its territories cannot be used to shelter or train terrorists, or to finance any act of terrorism.
• Countries issued a joint statement, dubbed as “Delhi Declaration on Afghanistan”. As per the statement, eight participating nations discussed the evolving Afghan situation including the global ramification in the aftermath Taliban’s takeover.
• They paid special attention to issues like Threats from terrorism, the current political situation in Afghanistan, radicalisation & drug trafficking.

Who were the participating countries?

The eight nations, which attended the conference included India, Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Commitments made by countries

• Participating countries highlighted the need to offer Afghanistan all possible humanitarian assistance.
• They reaffirmed their firm commitment to tackle terrorism in all forms and manifestations. They also seek to combat terror financing, dismantle terrorist infrastructure and counter-radicalisation in a bid to ensure that Afghanistan will never become a safe haven for terrorism.
• They further emphasised the importance of ensuring the fundamental rights of children, minorities and women.

Joint Declaration

The Joint Declaration (Delhi Declaration) emphasised the need to provide urgent assistance to the Afghan people. It expressed deep concerns over the deteriorating socio-economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.  It also noted the need of helping Afghanistan to contain COVID-19.