• First national conference of tribal writers held in J&K.
• The 2-day conference, organised at the Jammu University’s Bhaderwah campus was attended by 37 Adivasi writers, poets and cultural experts.
• Aim – To provide a platform for Adivasi writers to foster cultural exchange and address the challenges they face in preserving their unique identities.
• It is an initiative of Jharkhandi Bhasha Sahitya Sanskriti Akhara and the Anjuman-e-Taraqqi Gojri Adab.
• Representation of Tribals – Santhali, Gondi, Ho, Bhundhari, Koya, Banjara, Kharia, Kudhuk, Gujjar, Bakerwal, Gaddi and Munda, attended the conference.
• States Participated – Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Andhra Pradesh.

• The Ministry of State for Culture inaugurated the exhibition “Hamari Bhasha, Hamari Virasat ” under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) at the National Archives of India in New Delhi, commemorating the 75th International Archives Day.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

• The exhibition aims to celebrate India’s linguistic diversity, highlighting its status as one of the most linguistically diverse countries globally, with approximately 788 languages spoken. India is thus one of the four most linguistically diversified countries in the world, along with Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Nigeria.
• The exhibition features a variety of original manuscripts, including the ancient Gilgit Manuscripts (written between the 5th -6th centuries CE, which is the oldest surviving manuscript collection in India), Tattvartha Sutra (Ancient Jain Text), Ramayana, and Srimad Bhagwad Gita, among others. Furthermore, the National Archives of India has made over 72,000 manuscripts available, both physically and through digitization, ensuring their accessibility to people worldwide.

WHAT ARE MANUSCRIPTS?

• A manuscript is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf or any other material dating back at least seventy-five years that has significant scientific, historical or aesthetic value.
• These are found in hundreds of different languages and scripts. Often, one language is written in a number of different scripts.
• For example, Sanskrit is written in Oriya script, Grantha script, Devanagari script and many other scripts.
• These are distinct from historical records such as epigraphs on rocks, farmans, revenue records which provide direct information on events or processes in history. Manuscripts have knowledge content.

ABOUT GILGIT MANUSCRIPTS:

• It was written between the 5″ -6″ centuries CE, which is the oldest surviving manuscript collection in India.
• It was written on the birch bark folios documents written on pieces of inner layer of the bark of birch trees were found in Kashmir region.
• It contains both canonical and non-canonical Jain and Buddhist works that throw light on the evolution of many religious-philosophical literature.

ABOUT THE DAY

• International Archives Day is a day of celebration and awareness of the importance and value of archives and archivists. It is celebrated on June 9 every year, since 2008, to commemorate the date when the International Council on Archives (ICA) was created under the auspices of UNESCO in 1948.

• The Central government plans to complete 3D digitisation of all museums under its administrative control by the year-end for better conservation of artefacts.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Museums include Salar Jung museum, Hyderabad, the Allahabad Museum in Prayagraj, the Indian Museum, Kolkata, the Victoria Memorial Hall, the National Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art.
• Besides aiding conservation, 3D digitisation in the museum space can offer visitors new ways to access and explore the collection.
• 3D models can be used in augmented reality and virtual reality learning experiences, and facilitate 3D printing.

3D SCANNING

• It will mean analysing a real-world object or environment to collect three-dimensional data of its shape and possibly its appearance. The collected data is then used to construct digital 3D models.
• The entire process was being carried out by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the MeitY and Union Culture Ministry for this.

JATAN VIRTUAL MUSEUM BUILDER SOFTWARE

• The 3D digitisation would be done using the JATAN virtual museum builder software which has been designed and developed by Human Centres Design and Computing Group, Centre for Development of Smart Computing, Pune.
• JATAN is a digital collection management system for Indian museums.
• It is a client server application with features such as image cropping, watermarking, unique numbering, and management of digital objects with multimedia representations.
• It can create 3D virtual galleries and provide public access through web, mobile or touch screen kiosks.

ABOUT C-DAC

• It is the apex research and development wing of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• It was established in the year
• Its main purpose was to carry out research and development in Electronics, IT and other associated areas.
• It was setup to build Supercomputers in the context of the denial of the import of Supercomputers by the USA.
• C-DAC build India’s first indigenously built supercomputer Param 8000 in 1991.
• Applications of Param 8000: long-range weather forecasting, remote sensing, drug design and molecular modelling.

• The first meeting of the Joint Committee of India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) held successfully. India and the UAE look to more than double non-oil bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2030.

COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT (CEPA)

• CEPA is a comprehensive agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates that seeks to enhance the economic and commercial ties between the two countries.
• The agreement aims to increase trade and investment, improve market access, and promote economic growth between India and the UAE.
• CEPA was signed in 2020 and is seen as a significant milestone in the economic relationship between India and the UAE.
• Under CEPA, the two countries have committed to reducing barriers to trade and investment, which will make it easier for businesses from both countries to engage in trade and investment activities.
• The agreement includes provisions for reducing tariffs on goods, services, and investment, as well as for promoting the movement of people, goods, and services between India and the UAE.
• CEPA is expected to provide a major boost to the economic relationship between India and the UAE, as it will increase trade and investment, improve market access, and provide a more favorable environment for businesses to operate in.
• The agreement is expected to benefit a range of sectors, including but not limited to information technology, engineering, pharmaceuticals, and services sectors.
• CEPA is expected to promote the development of economic and commercial ties between India and the UAE, and to provide a foundation for further cooperation between the two countries in the future.
• It is projected to reach US$100 billion in goods trade and over US$1.5 billion in trade in services in the next five years. Built on three pillars of trust, transparency, and talent.

BENEFITS

• For India:
  • Preferential market access provided by the UAE on more than 97 percent of its tariff lines, accounting for 99 percent of Indian exports to the UAE in value terms
  • Preferential market access for labour-intensive goods such as textiles, leather, footwear, sports goods, plastics, furniture, agricultural and wood products, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles.
  • Preferential market access for services sector including computer-related services, health, tourism, travel, engineering, and accountancy.
  • Creation of more than one million jobs for the Indian workforce through enhanced trade liberalisation and market access.
  • UAE committed to issuing 140,000 employment visas to skilled Indian professionals by
  • Three-year visa for intra-corporate transfers and a 90-day visa for business visitors and contractual suppliers from India
• Benefits for the UAE:
  • Boost to the UAE’s GDP (US$9 billion) by 1.7 percent by 2030.
  • Zero-duty market access for 90 percent of exports from the UAE into India, benefiting commodity exporters of petrochemicals, aluminum, and copper.

• Recently the banks have put daily limits for the transactions facilitated by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

UNIFIED PAYMENTS INTERFACE (UPI)

• UPI is a digital payment system through which a user can both send and receive money through a Virtual Payment Address (VPA). The money will be directly debited from the customer’s bank account.
• It was developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016.

VIRTUAL PAYMENT ADDRESS (VPA)

• VPA is a unique identifier that helps UPI to track a person’s account.
• VPA can be used to make and request payments through a UPI-enabled app. There is no need to fill bank account details repeatedly for making multiple payments.

UPI TRANSACTION LIMIT

• Limit set by NPCI:
• At present, users can make up to 20 transactions or Rs. 1 lakh in a single day – either all at once or through the day.
• For certain specific categories of transactions such as the capital markets, collections (such as bills), insurance and forward inward remittances, the limit is Rs. 2 lakh.
• In December 2021, the limit for the UPI-based ASBA (Application Supported by Blocked Amount) IPO and retail direct schemes was increased to 5 lakh for each transaction.
• Limits set by Banks and UPI apps: They can set limits with their own guidelines for UPI transactions. However, these limits must be within the overall upper limit set by the NPCI.
• The limit varies from small banks like Canara Bank which allows 25,000 transactions, to big banks like SBI that have set a limit of Rs. 1 lakh.
• Google Pay, Paytm, and Amazon Pay have set a limit of 1 lakh per day along with a total of up to ten transaction limits across all UPI apps and bank accounts.
• Reason: The limits are set to balance out customer convenience and potential fraud/risk concerns.

WHY IS UPI THE MOST PREFERRED PAYMENT MODE?

• Timely Transfer: It is based on the IMPS platform and works 24×7. Thus helps transfer funds instantly the moment a request is submitted.
• Multiple Accounts Linking: UPI apps allow linking over one bank account. One can simultaneously use the UPI IDs for multiple bank accounts, sending and receiving funds.
• Simple Interface: There are multiple smartphone apps for UPI activities which come with a simple and user-friendly interface.

INTERNATIONALISATION OF UPI:

• Several countries across the globe are adopting UPI for Person-to-Person (P2P), Person-to-Merchant (P2M) and cross-border payments.
• RBI has also taken steps for cross border linkage of fast payment systems of India and Singaporee. UPI-PayNow.

• Stating that the ‘Right to Live with Dignity’ includes not being “tied down by casteism”, the Delhi High Court has directed the CBSE to comply with the request of two siblings.

ABOUT ISSUE:

• The High Court has directed the CBSE to comply with the request of two brothers belonging to the Scheduled Caste community to update their father’s surname in their Class 10 and 12 certificates.
• In a plea before the court, the siblings said their father had decided to change his surname from ‘Mochi’ to ‘Nayak’ due to caste atrocities suffered by him daily.
• The judge said the petitioner brothers have every right to have an “honourable and respectable” identity in society and if they have suffered any disadvantage on account of their surname, they were “certainly entitled to a change of their identity that gives respectability to the petitioners in the societal structure”.

RIGHT TO LIFE (ARTICLE 21)

• Article 21: Protection of Life and Personal Liberty: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.
• Article 21 is at the heart of the Constitution. It is our Constitution’s most organic and progressive provision.
• A person’s right to life and personal liberty can only be taken away through the legal process (as defined in Article 12) that has been established.
• Article 21 of the Constitution defines ‘life’ as more than just the act of breathing. It does not imply a just animal existence or a life of drudgery.
• It encompasses a far broader range of rights, including the right to live in dignity, the right to a livelihood, the right to health, the right to clean air, and so on.
• The main purpose of Article 21 is to ensure that when a person’s right to life or liberty is taken away by the state, it is done so exclusively in accordance with the law.

RIGHT TO LIVE WITH HUMAN DIGNITY

• In Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India[iii], the Supreme Court gave a new dimension to Article 21 and held that the right to live is not merely a physical right but includes within its ambit the right to live with human dignity.

• Recently, the delicious Ishad Mango from Uttara Kannada (Karnataka) has earned its much-awaited geological indicator (GI) tag.

ABOUT ISHAD MANGO:

• It is grown predominantly around Ankola, is tasty and contains a lot of
• It is also called the Oriental mango, as it was once canned and exported to various countries under this name. The fruit has been cultivated for over 400 years in Ankola and its surrounding area.
• It has two variants — Kari Ishad, which has thin skin, more pulp and is sweeter, and Bili Ishad, which has thick skin and less pulp and sweetness.
• The Kari Ishad is accepted as one of the finest quality mangoes due to its unique aroma, luscious taste, high amount of pulp, shape, and size.

ABOUT GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION (GI) TAG

• Geographical Indication (GI) is an indication used to identify goods having special characteristics originating from a definite geographical territory.
• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India.
• It is governed and directed by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
• It was decided and also stated under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of the Paris Convention that the protection of industrial Property and Geographical Indication are elements of Intellectual Property.
• It is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods).
• This tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.

OTHER MANGEOS WITH GI TAG

• Gir Kesar Mango – Gujarat
• Appemidi mango – Karnataka
• Marathwada Kesar mango – Maharashtra
• Alphonso mango – Maharashtra
• Malihabadi Dusseheri Mango -Uttar Pradesh
• Malda Laxman Bhog Mango – West Bengal
• Khirsapati mangoes – West Bengal
• Malda Fazli Mango – West Bengal

• The project and loan agreement of Himachal Pradesh Subtropical Horticulture, Irrigation and Value Addition (HP SHIVA) project has been signed between the Government of India, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the state government.
• The Rs 1,292 crore project aims at boosting the cultivation of sub-tropical fruits like orange, guava, pomegranate, etc., in seven districts (Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Solan, Sirmour and Una), thereby increasing the income of farm households.
• The project is based on ‘Beej Se Bazaar Tak’ concept, linking all activities from pre-production to post harvest management, including value chain development and access to market. The project will expand climate-resilient sub-tropical horticulture plantation area along with assured irrigation and market access through value chain development.
• The project aims at improving the livelihood of at least 15,000 farm households (around 90,000 direct beneficiaries in these households).

• Novak Djokovic won his men’s-record 23rd Grand Slam title with a victory over Casper Ruud in French Open Final.

• World Day Against Child Labour, observed on June 12th, aims to inspire a global movement against child labour.
• Theme for 2023 is: Social Justice for All. End Child Labour!
• The International Labour Organization (ILO) launched the first World Day Against Child Labour in 2002, as a way to highlight the plight of children engaged in child labour.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION

• The ILO was created in 1919 by the Versailles Peace Treaty.
• After the demise of the League of Nations, it became the first specialized agency associated with the UN.
• Its secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland.