Global Alliance for Global Good – Gender Equity and Equality

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

At the 54th annual World Economic Forum conference in Davos, India recently founded the “Global Alliance for Global Good – Gender Equity and Equality” to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Background:-

Smriti Irani and Hardeep Puri, two union ministers, were present.

About:-

• Ministry: Development for Women and Children.
• The G20 Leaders’ Declaration and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s unwavering commitment to the cause of women-led development served as the impetus for this coalition. (Foreign Economic Forum)
• This new Alliance’s main goal is to bring together international best practices, knowledge exchanges, and investments in the identified fields of women’s health, education, and entrepreneurship.
• As a follow-up to the actions of the Engagement Group and initiatives under the G20 framework, including the Business 20, Women 20 and G20 EMPOWER, the Alliance will be carrying forward the pledges made by the G20 leaders for the benefit of the greater global community.
• Through the partnership, global best practices, information exchange, and investment possibilities in women’s health, education, and enterprise will be brought together.
• Leaders in the industry, such as Mastercard, Uber, Tata, TVS, Bayer, Godrej, Serum Institute of India, IMD Lausanne, and more than 10,000 partners, have endorsed the Alliance.

Significance:-

• A number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality and Empowerment), SDG 17 (Global Partnership for Development), and others, will be significantly aided by this program.

Vaibhav fellowship

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

The Science Ministry recently revealed the names of the inaugural “Vaibhav” fellowship awardees.

Background:-

• The program, according to Science Minister Jitendra Singh, is “open-ended” and designed to promote meaningful collaboration as well as possibly draw scientists from the diaspora to work in India.

About Vaibhav fellowship:-

• With the fellowship, NRI scholars would have the chance to work with an Indian academic or research institution for a minimum of one month and a maximum of two months per year.
• The government is providing up to Rs 37 lakh to the scholars for the full three-year duration of the fellowship.
• Objective: The VAIBHAV Fellowship aims to improve the research ecosystem of Indian higher education and scientific institutions by facilitating academic and research collaboration between Indian institutions and the best institutions in the world through the mobility of faculty/researchers from overseas institutions to India.

Nature & Duration of Support:

• The fellowship can only be taken up in India.
• Any accredited academic institution, national laboratory, or other accredited research and development facility may use it.
• The host organization is responsible for supplying the required infrastructure and administrative assistance.
• For three years, the fellowship will last for one to two months each year.

The fellows will be entitled to receive the grants as given below:

• A $5,000 fellowship (or its equivalent in Indian money)
• Business class international travel from their institute to their place of employment in India
• Staying at a three- or four-star hotel
• Annual contingency of Rs 1,00,000
• Academically related domestic travel to a maximum of two stations annually

PM GatiShakti

GOVERNANCE

PM GatiShakti recently encouraged project planning and execution for the Ayodhya Bypass Project.

Background:-

• The Ayodhya Bypass Project will improve social, economic, and logistical links between several districts.

About PM GatiShakti:-

• October 13, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. Up to sixteen government ministries and departments are involved in the planning and implementation of the infrastructure projects that would be unified by a centralised site under the Gati Shakti plan.
• It entails the establishment of a single overarching platform that would enable effective planning and execution of infrastructure projects through real-time collaboration between many ministries and departments.
• GatiShakti aims to decrease turnaround times, boost cargo handling capacity, and lower logistical expenses.
• It will lower the cost of logistics and enable last-mile infrastructure connectivity.
• It would include the various ministries’ and state governments’ infrastructure plans, such as UDAN, inland waterways, dry/land ports, and Bharatmala and Sagarmala.

Importance:

• reduce India’s supply and logistical costs.
• Increases Efficiency of the Supply Chain.
• Combined Governance.

Asteroid 2024 BM

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• The asteroid 2024 BM just made a pass near Earth.

Background:-

• Today, January 22, 2024, the asteroid passed Earth at a distance of about 3 million kilometers.

About Asteroid 2024 BM:-

• This specific space rock is a member of the Apollo group of Near-Earth Asteroids, a class of space rocks that cross Earth and have semi-major axes that are bigger than Earth’s.
• These asteroids have the name of the massive Apollo asteroid (1862), discovered in the 1930s by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth.(Extrasolar planets’ environments)
• There have been previous instances of Asteroid 2024 BM approaching Earth.
• On December 5, 1900, it had already passed Earth at a distance of about 23 million kilometers.
• Following that, on May 2, 2039, it is scheduled to come closer to the Earth at a distance of 9.7 kilometers.
• It is as large as an airplane, measuring about 150 feet in width.
• Asteroid 2024 BM measures 45 feet in width.
• The majority of asteroids in our solar system are found in the main asteroid belt, which is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

• Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, the cheetahs’ second habitat in India, is reportedly almost finished.

Background:-

• In February, specialists from South Africa will travel to India to assess the state of the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

About Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary:-

• Location: Madhya Pradesh’s northwest region, with a portion of its borders extending into Rajasthan.
• In 1974, Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary received notification that it was a wildlife sanctuary.
• Large open spaces with little vegetation, rocky terrain, and isolated areas of lush forests can be found throughout the sanctuary.
• Northern tropical dry deciduous forest, Northern tropical dry mixed deciduous forest, and Dry deciduous scrub make up the vegetation.
• The refuge is split into two halves by the River Chambal.
• Because Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary and the reservoir have robust bird populations and a wide variety of birds, they have been classified as Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs).
• Flora: The main tree species to be found here include Khair, Salai, Kardhai, Dhawda, Tendu, and Palash.
• Fauna: Carnivores including the Indian Leopard, Striped Hyena, and Jackal live in the sanctuary, along with herbivores like Chinkara, Nilgai, and Spotted Deer.