15 Jan 2024 PIB
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Army Day 2. India Meteorological Department (IMD) 3. 24.82 crore Indians escape Multidimensional Poverty in the last 9 years 4. India Signs Agreement for Lithium Exploration & Mining Project in Argentina 5. One Vehicle One FASTag 6. Bilateral Maritime Exercise between the Indian Navy (IN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN)
1. Army Day
Syllabus: GS-3, Defence and Security
Prelims: Army Day
Context:
PM paid tributes to Army personnel on the occasion of Army Day.
Army Day:
- Army Day is celebrated in India on January 15 every year since it was on this day in 1949, that the first Indian officer took control of the Indian Army as Commander-in-Chief. The officer was General KM Cariappa, later Field Marshal.
Know more about Army Day in the link.
2. India Meteorological Department (IMD)
Syllabus: GS-1, Geography
Prelims: IMD
Context:
The India Meteorological Department celebrates its 150th anniversary.
Learn more about the India Meteorological Department, its mandate, functions and other details in the linked article.
3. 24.82 crore Indians escape Multidimensional Poverty in the last 9 years
Syllabus: GS-2, Social Justice
Mains: Poverty-related issues in India
Context:
NITI Aayog’s Discussion Paper ‘Multidimensional Poverty in India since 2005-06’ says 24.82 crore Indians escaped Multidimensional Poverty in the last 9 years.
Details:
- The paper credits significant government initiatives to address all dimensions of poverty between 2013-14 to 2022-23 for this achievement.
- Oxford Policy and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have provided technical inputs for this paper.
Know more about the Multidimensional Poverty Index in the linked article.
Significant highlights of the Paper:
- India has registered a significant decline in multidimensional poverty in India from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23 i.e. a reduction of 17.89 percentage points.
- Uttar Pradesh registered the largest decline in the number of poor with 5.94 crore people escaping multidimensional poverty during the last nine years followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore, Madhya Pradesh at 2.30 crore and Rajasthan at 1.87 crore.
- All 12 indicators of MPI have recorded significant improvement during the entire study period.
- As a result, India is likely to achieve its SDG target of halving multidimensional poverty well before 2030.
Image source: PIB
4. India Signs Agreement for Lithium Exploration & Mining Project in Argentina
Syllabus: GS-3, Economy
Prelims: India – Argentina agreement, Lithium
Context:
The agreement was signed between Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) and the state-owned enterprise of Catamarca province of Argentina.
Details:
- KABIL will start the exploration and development of 5 lithium brine blocks covering an area of about 15,703 hectares, located in the Catamarca province of Argentina.
- KABIL is also preparing to set up a branch office in Catamarca, Argentina.
- The project’s cost is about 200 crores.
Significance:
- This is the first ever lithium exploration and mining project by a Government Company of India.
- This will not only boost its quest for sourcing lithium for India but will also help in bringing in technical & operational experience for Brine type lithium exploration, exploitation and extraction.
- Argentina is the part of “Lithium Triangle” along with Chile and Bolivia with more than half of the world’s total lithium resources and has the distinction of having the 2nd largest lithium resources, 3rd largest lithium reserves and 4th largest production in the world.
Syllabus: GS-3, Infrastructure
Prelims: One Vehicle One FASTag, FASTag, NHAI
Context:
NHAI Takes ‘One Vehicle One FASTag’ Initiative to Enhance National Highway Experience.
Details:
- NHAI is implementing the ‘One Vehicle One FASTag’ initiative to discourage users from using a single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle.
- FASTag users must comply with ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ and discard all the earlier issued FASTags through their respective banks.
- Only the latest FASTag account shall remain active as previous tags will be deactivated/blacklisted after 31st January 2024.
- NHAI is also encouraging FASTag users to complete the ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) process of their latest FASTag by updating KYC as per RBI guidelines.
- FASTags with a valid balance but with incomplete KYC will get deactivated/blacklisted by banks after 31st January 2024.
6. Bilateral Maritime Exercise between the Indian Navy (IN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN)
Syllabus: GS-3, Security & Defence; GS-2, IR
Prelims: Indo-Thai Corpat
Context:
The maiden Bilateral Maritime Exercise between the Indian Navy (IN) and the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) was conducted from 20 to 23 December 2023.
Details:
- Bilateral Maritime Exercise between the Indian Navy (IN) and the Royal Thai Navy (RTN):
- Indigenously built Indian Naval ships Kulish and IN LCU 56 participated in the inaugural edition of the exercise.
- The Indo-Thai Bilateral Exercise is being named ‘Ex-Ayutthaya’, which literally translates to ‘The Invincible One’ or ‘Undefeatable’, and symbolises the significance of two of the oldest cities Ayodhya in India and Ayutthaya in Thailand, the historic legacies, rich cultural ties and shared historical narratives dating back to several centuries.
- The 36th edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) was also conducted along with the maiden bilateral exercise. Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both navies participated in the Sea Phase of the exercise.
Read previous PIB articles here.
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| India Post Payments Bank | African Union | ||
| Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) | Sagar Parikrama | ||
| National Green Hydrogen Mission | LiFE Movement | ||
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