PM of India and Bangladesh jointly inaugurated Development Projects in Power and
Rail Sector
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister (PM) of India
and Sheikh Hasina, PM of Bangladesh, jointly
inaugurated three Indian–
assisted development projects via video
conferencing.
These 3 projects in the rail and power sector aims
to strengthen connectivity and energy security in
India and Bangladesh.
The 3 projects are:
Akhaura – Agartala Cross-Border Rail Link.
Khulna – Mongla Port Rail Line.
Unit – II of the Maitree Super Thermal Power
Plant
About: Bangladesh
Prime Minister(PM) : Sheikh Hasina
Capital: Dhaka
Currency: Bangladeshi Taka
India-France signed LoI in Public Administration & Administrative Reforms
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) under the Ministry of Personnel,
Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of
India, and Ministry of Public Sector
Transformation & the Civil Service of the French
Republic have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for
Cooperation in the field of Public Administration
and Administrative Reforms for 3 years.
Key Points:
- Under this LoI, a Joint Working Group (JWG)
will be established to create a roadmap for bilateral
collaboration.
- Emphasis were laid upon high-level exchanges in
the upcoming months.
- India presented Prime Minister (PM) Narendra
Modi’s vision of ‘Maximum Governance –
Minimum Government’ policy.
Under this, India’s Next Generation Administrative
Reforms include Meritocracy recognition, Good Governance Index benchmarking, quality e-services, and
technology adoption in grievance redressal.
- The French government expressed its interest in exchanging information on effective Public Grievance
Redressal, Secretariat Reforms adopted for digital transformation of the central secretariat and dissemination
of award-winning Good Governance Practices.
India To Host World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly In 2024
- Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Ministry of Communications
announced that India will be hosting the World
Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA) in 2024
- WTSA is the governing conference of the International
Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization
Sector (ITU-T).
- It is a quadrennial event (happening once in 4 years).
- WTSA20 was scheduled to happen in India. Due to COVID19 pandemic, it was held in Geneva,
Switzerland in March 2022
IRDAI Forms Taskforce To Review Bancassurance Norms
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has formed a task force under the
Chairmanship of Meena Kumari, Executive Director(Life) of IRDAI, to review the existing
bancassurance framework.
Key Points:
- The task force was formed in response to
concerns about mis-selling/forced selling of
insurance policies through the bancassurance
channel.
- The taskforce will review the existing
regulatory framework for bancassurance and
suggest ways and means to increase the
efficiency of it.
- The taskforce will also suggest regulatory
stipulations on the market conduct requirements
of bancassurance partners.
- The taskforce will also examine best
international practices and suggest suitable
changes.
- The taskforce is asked to submit these recommendations within 31st December 2023.
What is Bancassurance?
- Bancassurance is a financial services model in which banking institutions and insurance companies
collaborate to offer a wide range of financial products and services to customers
- It involves the distribution of insurance products through banking channels, such as bank branches,
Automated teller machines (ATMs), online banking platforms, and mobile banking apps.
About Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI):
Chairperson – Debasish Panda
Headquarters – Hyderabad, Telangana
Established in – 1999, Incorporated in 2000
5th Businessline Changemaker
Awards: RBI wins Changemaker of
the Year 2023; AMUL wins Iconic
Changemaker
Union Minister Raj Kumar Singh, Ministry
of Power honoured the winners of the 5th
edition of The Hindu BusinessLine
Changemaker Awards during the award
ceremony held in New Delhi, Delhi.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was named the Changemaker of the Year 2023 and Amul, the brand of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation
(GCMMF) based in Anand, Gujarat was named Iconic Changemaker.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of GCMMF received the award on
behalf of RBI and AMUL respectively.
About the 2023 Winners:
- Shrinidhi RS is the creator of CherriLearn, an education app which offers gamified lessons in regional
languages to children of standards 1-5.
- Stellapps Technologies, is a first of its kind start-up in India that works on digitizing the dairy supply
chain.
- HerKey (formerly JobsForHer) ,founded by Neha Bagaria, aims to reverse the female brain drain from
within the Indian workforce.
- EducateGirls is a Non-Government Organization(NGO) that aims to improve access and quality of
education for girls
- PMJDY is the financial inclusion program under the Department of Financial Services. Ministry of
Finance, government of India.
Saima Wazed, Daughter of Bangladesh PM, nominated as Regional Director of WHO
South East Asia
Saima Wazed, the candidate of Bangladesh, was nominated as the Regional Director of the World Health
Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region (SEAR), one of the 6 WHO Regions.
Saima Wazed, the daughter of Bangladesh Prime
Minister(PM) Sheikh Hasina, won the election with
8 votes(including Bangladesh and India).
Following the appointment, She will succeed the
incumbent Regional director Dr. Poonam
Khetrapal Singh (since 2014) from India on 1st
February 2024
About Saima Wazed:
- Saima Wazed is a licensed school psychologist
and expert on neurodevelopmental disorders,
autism and mental health.
- She was made WHO- Regional Office for SouthEast Asia (SEARO)’s Regional Champion for
Autism in 2015 and was appointed as WHO’s
Goodwill Ambassador for Autism in SEAR in 2017.
- She is a member of WHO’s global Expert Advisory Panel on Mental Health.
- She also serves as the chairperson of the Bangladesh National Advisory Committee for Autism and
Neurodevelopmental Disorders since 2012.
- She is also the chief advisor for National Mental Health Strategic Plan Working Group, and the
chairperson of the Shuchona Foundation (SF), Bangladesh.
CSIR-NIIST & HAL Signs MoU to Strengthen Indigenisation in Aerospace, Defence
Sectors
Kerala-based Council of Scientific & Industrial ResearchNational Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology
(CSIR-NIIST) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in Bengaluru
(Karnataka) to collaborate in India’s aerospace and defense
sectors.
The collaboration aims to strengthen the indigenisation and import substitution program for India’s aerospace and defence sectors
Key Points:
- The MoU involves the development of magnesium and aluminum alloy castings and related areas for the
aerospace and defence sectors.
.The MoU facilitates CSIR-NIIST to collaborate on:
- Human resource and Facility utilisation; Technology support services; Consultancy services; and
collaborative research works in the field of light alloys, for the design and development of aerospace
components and welding
- The specific areas of collaboration include:
- The manufacturing of aeronautical grade magnesium alloy castings using the Low-Pressure Casting (LPC)
process;
- The design and development of filler materials for salvage welding of aluminum and magnesium alloy
castings; and
- Other areas of research of mutual interest.
About CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST):
Initially it was established in 1975 as a CSIR Complex. It was named the Regional Research Laboratory in
1978 and later renamed NIIST in 2007.
Director– Dr. C. Anandharamakrishnan
Headquarters– Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
About Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL):
HAL is a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of Defence which is
involved in the design, development, manufacturing, supply, and maintenance of aircraft, helicopters,
aerospace systems, and components.
Chairman and Managing Director (additional charge)- C.B.
Ananthakrishnan (Director (Finance) &
Chief Financial Officer (CFO))
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
HAL was incorporated on 23 December 1940 as Hindustan Aircraft Limited
International Day for Biosphere Reserve 2023- November 03
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s International Day for
Biosphere Reserve (BR) or World Biosphere Reserve Day is annually observed across the globe on 3
November to raise awareness of the importance of biosphere reserves and to promote their conservation
and sustainable use.
- The day serves as a crucial
reminder of the need to
safeguard the delicate balance
between humans and the
environment.i.In 2021,
UNESCO at its 41st session of
General Conference (GC),
adopted a resolution (41 C/37)
and proclaimed the 3
November of each year as the
International Day for
Biosphere Reserves.
- At the request of Spain and Uruguay, the 211th session of the Executive Board included an agenda item on
the proclamation of the International Day for BR
- The first-ever International Day for BR was observed on 3 November 2022