03 Jan 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU)
2. Indian Science Congress (108th Edition)

1. Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU)

Syllabus – GS2, Important International institutions.

Prelims – Asian Pacific Postal Union – intergovernmental organisation of 32 members.

Context – India to take over leadership of APPU.

Details –

• India will take over the leadership of the Asian Pacific Postal Union from January 2023.
• APPU is the only Restricted Union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in the region, which is a specialised agency of the United Nations.
• Dr. Vinaya Prakash Singh will take over the charge of Secretary General of the Union for a tenure of 4 years. This is the first time an Indian is leading an international organisation in the postal sector.

About APPU –

• Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) is an intergovernmental organisation of 32 member countries of the Asian-Pacific region. It is based in Bangkok, Thailand.
• APPU aims to extend, facilitate and improve postal relations between the member countries and promote cooperation in the field of postal services.
• APPU is made up of three bodies namely, Congress, Executive Council and APPU Bureau.
• The Secretary-General leads the activities of the Union and is also the Director of the Asian Pacific Postal College (APPC) which is the largest intergovernmental postal training institute in the region.

Image source – www.appu.bureau.org.

2. Indian Science Congress (108th Edition)

Syllabus – GS3, Science & Technology.

Prelims – 108th Indian Science Congress (ISC), at RTM, Nagpur University, Maharashtra.

Context – The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the 108th ISC via video conferencing.

Details –

• The focal theme of the 108th ISC (Jan 3 – Jan 7, 2023) is “Science & Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment”. The congress will include discussions on issues of sustainable development, women empowerment and the role of science & technology in attaining these objectives. 
• Addressing the gathering, the PM highlighted the role of India’s scientific strength in India’s story of development over the next 25 years and said “when the spirit of national service gets infused in science along with passion, results are unprecedented”. He also said,
  • India’s scientific community will ensure a deserving place for our country
  • Abundant availability of data and technology in 21st-century India will help science
  • Our thinking is not just that we should empower women via science but also empowering science through the contribution of women
  • Increasing participation of women is proof that women and science are both progressing in the nation
  • Efforts of science can turn into great achievements only when they come out of the lab and reach the land, and their impact reaches from global to grassroots, when its ambit is from journal to jameen and when change is visible from research to real life
  • If the country takes initiatives in futuristic areas, India will be in a position to lead Industry 4.0.
• In the Global Innovation Index  2022, India has moved to rank 40 from 81st rank in 2015.
• India is among the top three nations in the world in terms of the number of PhDs and startup ecosystems.

About Indian Science Congress (ISC)

• The first session of the Indian Science Congress was held in 1914.
• Indian Science Congress, the annual gathering of researchers in the country, is organised by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA).

Also read – Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Read the previous PIB articles here.

January 3rd, 2023, PIB:- Download PDF Here