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1. President of India graces the inaugural ceremony of fifth international Ambedkar Conclave.
- The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the fifth International Ambedkar Conclave.
- Conclave is organised by the Forum of SC and ST Legislators and parliamentarians and Dr Ambedkar Chamber of Commerce.
- This Forum is constantly highlighting the issues of social and economic justice and playing an important role in spreading the thoughts and ideas of Dr Ambedkar. Conclave also focuses on education, entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development along with issues of constitutional rights.
- Babasaheb used to say that rights cannot be protected only by laws, but it is also necessary to have moral and social consciousness in the society. He always emphasised on non-violent and constitutional means.
- In our Constitution many provisions have been made to protect the interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Article 46 of the Constitution directs that the State shall develop the educational and economic interests of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes with special care.
2. India and the European Union decided to expand clean energy cooperation.
- India and the European Union have vowed to scale up cooperation in areas of clean energy with a focus on offshore wind, green hydrogen and solar power besides deciding to encourage investments in the field of energy efficiency.
- Various aspects of deepening clean energy cooperation were discussed at a meeting of the India-EU Energy Panel on Wednesday.
- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the panel agreed on a detailed work programme until 2023 to implement clean energy and climate partnership that was agreed in 2016
- At the meeting, the two sides also agreed to expand cooperation in areas of green hydrogen, grid integration, including smart grids, storage, power market design and sustainable financing for clean energy projects, according to the MEA.
- The two sides agreed to jointly host an India-EU offshore wind business and investment summit in the first half of next year, with an exhibition of European and Indian companies.
- They also decided to organise an India-EU high-level platform on smart grid replication, identifying possible opportunities and barriers for replicating and upscaling smart grid projects in India, the MEA said.
- It said both sides will also host an India-EU Hydrogen Forum with a focus on exchanging best practices and policies on the role of hydrogen in energy systems.
3. Indian long jumper Anju Bobby George bestowed with the Woman of the Year Award by World Athletics.
- The 44-year-old Anju, the only Indian to have won a medal in the World Championships with a long jump bronze in the 2003 edition, was named for the award in the world body’s annual awards
- The award is given to recognise a woman who has dedicated her life to the sport of athletics. Anju is the second recipient of the prestigious award, which was started in 2019, after Ethiopia’s double Olympic champion Derartu Tulu.
- Anju is the second recipient of the prestigious award, which was started in 2019, after Ethiopia’s double Olympic champion Derartu Tulu.
- Sprint legend PT Usha was honoured by the world athletics body with the Veteran Pin in 2019, in recognition of her contribution to the growth of sport.
- From 2014 to 2018, a similar honour called ‘Women in Athletics Award’, which recognised outstanding achievements and contributions made to develop, encouraged and strengthened the participation of women and girls at all levels of the sport, was given.
4. Ministry of Sports Added Seven Former Athletes To Mission Olympics Cell.
- Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said the decision was driven by the experience gained in the last Olympic cycle.
- MOC is a body set up by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to select athletes for financial assistance under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
- The MOC also focuses on selection, exclusion and retention of athletes, coaches, training institutes that can receive TOPS assistance.
- Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adile Sumeriwala and CEO TOPS Cmde Pushpendra Garg are other former players in the MOC.
- Union minister Arjun Munda, Ajay Singh and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by virtue of being president of Archery Association of India, Boxing Federation of India and Wrestling Federation of India will be part of the MOC.
- MOC is a body set up by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to select athletes for financial assistance under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
- The MOC also focuses on selection, exclusion and retention of athletes, coaches, training institutes that can receive TOPS assistance.
- The Indian contingent returned with a record seven medals, including a historic athletics gold, from the Tokyo Olympics, which was followed by the para athletes’ stellar show at the ensuing Paralympics in the Japanese capital.
5. 10 crore unorganised sector workers registered on e-Shram portal.
- Around 10 crore unorganised sector workers have been registered so far on e-Shram portal, an initiative to create national database of informal workforce, according to the labour ministry.
- The e-Shram portal was launched in August this year for creating national database for unorganised workers to provide them benefits of various social security schemes run by the government.
- Income-group wise analysis of workers registering at the portal shows maximum share of workers in the monthly income slab of below Rs 10,000.
6. Cyclone Jawad is likely to make landfall in Odisha’s coastal Puri.
- Odisha Chief Relief Commissioner Pradeep Kr Jena that Cyclone Jawad would make landfall in Puri district between the evening of December 4 and the morning of December 5.
- The IMD also issued an ‘orange’ alert, with the likelihood of very heavy rainfall December 3 and 4 over the Puri, Gajapati, Ganjam, Khurda, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Cuttack and Nayagarh districts of Odisha.
7. SRESHTA Scheme- implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- The scheme is to be implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It targets the meritorious students of Scheduled Caste. It will also help to control the drop out of students from courses 9 to 12.
- The scheme will provide high quality residential schooling. To implement the scheme, NITI Aayog has recognized reputed non – public residential facilities in aspirational districts.
- The Government of India has estimated that the scheme implementation will require Rs 300 crores.The scheme is expected to help more than 24,800 students in next five years.Scheme to be launched on Mahaparinirvan Divas
- The death anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, the Father of Indian Constitution, is celebrated as Mahaparinirvan Divas in the country. It falls on December 6. The SRESHTA Scheme is to be launched on this day.
- Scheme a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
- The scheme is to be launched as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. It is a GoI initiative to celebrate 75 years of independence. The celebrations under the programme was started in March 2021 and it is to go on till 15th August 2022.
8. Gita Gopinath became the First Deputy Managing Director of IMF.
Who is Gita Gopinath?
- Gita Gopinath was the first female Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund.
- She was born in Kolkata in 1971. She completed her graduation in University of Delhi and her masters in Washington University and PhD in Princeton University.
- In 2018, she was appointed the Chief Economist of the IMF.
- She named the world wide recession of 2020 due to COVID-19 as “The Great Lockdown”.
- In 2021, she was named the First Managing Director of the IMF. It is the number 2 position in the organisation.
Awards
- She was awarded the Parvasi Bharatiya Samman in 2019 by the President of India. The Parvasi Bharatiya Samman is presented in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. It is the highest award presented to the overseas Indians.
Position of Deputy Managing Director in IMF
- IMF is managed by the Managing Director, First Deputy Managing Director and deputy managing directors. The First Deputy Managing Director in the IMF takes lead on conducting surveillance, flagship publications and oversees research.
Role of Gita Gopinath in IMF
- Under Ms Gopinath’s leadership, the IMF has contributed to multilateral surveillance through World Economic Outlook. Her plan to end COVID-19 crisis by vaccinating the world at feasible cost was a huge success.
9. Nizamuddin Basti Project gets two UNESCO Heritage Awards.
What is the Nizamuddin Basti Project?
- The project restored more than 20 historic monuments located around 14th century Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya.
- The Nizamuddin area consists of Humayun Tomb and Batashe Wala Tomb and tomb of a 16th century poet Rahim (Khan I Khanan). These regions were segregated and damaged.
- They were also renewed by the Nizamuddin Basti Project.The project was started in 2007 by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi Urban Heritage Foundation and the Delhi Municipal Corporation.Objectives of Nizamuddin Basti ProjectThe Nizamuddin Basti Project is an Urban Renewal Project.
- It successfully unified the segregated zones of the seven-century old settlement of the Nizamuddin Basti and its surrounding 70 acres.It integrated socio – economic development, conservation and environmental development objectives in these areas.It unified three major sites namely Sundar Nursery, Nizamuddin Basti and Humayun Tomb.Humayun Tomb
- Humayun Tomb was commissioned by his first wife Bega Begum. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1993. Since then, it has undergone extensive restoration work. The tomb is placed in the centre of a thirty-acre garden called “Char Bagh”. The last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was captured by the British in Humayun Tomb in 1857.
10. International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed on December 3.
Background
- The International Day of Persons with Disability was first proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992. It aims to promote well-being and rights of the persons with disabilities and increase the awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in social, political, economic and cultural life.
Need for International Day of Persons with Disabilities
- There are more than 1 billion persons with disabilities in the world. Of these 80% live in developing countries. Of the disabled persons in the world, 46% are older than 60 years.
- The persons with disabilities are among the hardest hit by COVID-19.
Theme: “Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world”.
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