The carcass of an endangered Bryde’s whale was found near the border of Puri and Ganjam districts of Odisha, recently.
Brydei have got its specific and common name from Johan Bryde, who was a Norwegian consul to South Africa. He helped in establishing the first modern whaling station. B. edeni gets its specific and common names from Sir Ashley Eden who was the former High Commissioner of Myanmar.
Brydei occurs in Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans in between the 40th parallels of latitude. They prefer highly productive, tropical, subtropical, and warm, temperate waters having 16–22 °C. They also occur in Honshu in the north Pacific, west & southern California as well as in Washington in the United States.
NITI Aayog in association with the Convergence Energy Service Limited (CESL) & World Resources Institute, India launched the “e-Sawaari India Electric Bus Coalition” (e-Sawari India e-Bus Coalition). This coalition is also supported by Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).
With the launch of “e-Sawaari India Electric Bus Coalition”, central government agencies, state government agencies, city-level government agencies, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), transit service providers, financing institutions, and ancillary service providers would be able to share their learnings and knowledge on e-bus adoption in India.
In India, electrification of public transport especially across bus sector is key to decarbonization strategy. The launch of e-Sawaari India Electric Bus Coalition is a step of ensuring steady and paced electrification of bus transport system in the country. It will help in address the challenges of procurement, operations & financing e-bus deployment in a bid to achieve net zero emissions.
Adoption of electric bus has gained traction in India. several cities and their governments have embarked for electrifying their bus-based transport system. Government has been aggregating e-bus demand from the nine largest Indian cities under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) scheme.
NITI Aayog serves as the apex public policy think tank and nodal agency in India. It was set up in 2015, by replacing the Planning Commission. It has been tasked with catalysing economic development, and fostering cooperative federalism by involving State Governments of India. Some of the initiatives include:
As a part of ‘Azadi Ka Digital Mahotsav’, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) hosted a unique event called ‘Digital Payment Utsav’ on December 10, 2021.
Event was held at the India Habitat Centre.
Digital Payment Utsav witnessed the launch of innovative solutions such as:
Art and Culture arena at this Utsav attracted the attendees through captivating performances such as Sand Artist performance, Flash Mob and varied stalls by banks & fintechs.
The United Nations General Assembly observes Human Rights Day on December 10, every year.
United Nations General Assembly had adopted the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights in 1948. The Allies of World War II, also known as the United Nations, adopted four freedoms viz., freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom from fear and freedom from want. They created the Charter of United Nations on the basis of faith in fundamental human rights. Thus, Universal Declaration of Human Rights is significant and forms one of the bases of the United Nations.
The Human Rights Day signifies the absolute rights to which all humans are entitled, irrespective of their race, religion, colour, language, sex, political or other opinions, poverty, national or social origin, birth or another status. Equality and non-discrimination are at the heart of human rights. Human Rights Day has become more significant in the aftermath of covid-19, as it has deepened poverty and raised inequality, discrimination & other gaps in human rights protection.
The Human Rights Day in year 2021 was observed under the theme- “Equality, reducing inequalities, advancing human rights.”
The Human Rights Council consists of 47 elected United Nations Member States. These states are empowered to prevent inequality, protect the most vulnerable, abuses & discrimination, and punish the perpetrators of human rights violations. Council was established by the United Nations General Assembly on March 15, 2006 for replacing the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. It has been strongly criticized for including member countries which engage in human rights abuses.
On December 10, 2021, Minister of state for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar informed in Lok Sabha that, government has made a provision to generate a health ID for every citizen free of cost.
This mission was launched by the Prime Minister, on the occasion of third anniversary of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-Jay). It was first announced by PM on August 15, 2020. Ayushman Bharat scheme was launched on the recommendation of National Health Policy 2017 with the objective of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Under the scheme, Healthcare Professionals’ Registry (HPR) and Healthcare Facilities Registry (HFR) are also set up. It allows easy electronic access to health infrastructure and medical professionals. HPR is a comprehensive repository of all healthcare professionals, who are involved in delivering healthcare services.
On December 6, 2021, Hong Kong implemented its new ‘Zero Covid Policy’.
Hong Kong has followed China’s lead in adopting a “zero-Covid strategy”. This strategy has led to toughest quarantine and testing measures worldwide. This policy has kept infections low.
Hong Kong is a city and special administrative region of China. It is located on the eastern Pearl River Delta in South China. It has more than 7.5 million residents of various nationalities. City is one of the most densely populated places worldwide. It is one of the most developed cities of the world, with the most expensive housing.
Hong Kong was established as a British Empire colony, after Qing Empire ceded Hong Kong Island from Xin’an County in 1841. In 1960, it was expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula and further extended when Britain got a 99-year lease of New Territories in 1898. Japan had occupied British Hong Kong from 1941 to 1945. Whole territory was transferred to China in the year 1997.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointment Catherine Russell as the head of UN children’s agency UNICEF.
UNICEF is also known as “United Nations Children’s Fund”. It is a United Nations agency, which is responsible to provide humanitarian and developmental aid to children across the world. It is among the most widespread and recognizable social welfare organizations of the world. It is present in 192 countries and territories.
Main activities of UNICEF include:
The United States is the largest funder of UNICEF.
UNICEF is the successor of United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. It was established on December 11, 1946, in New York. It was established by U.N. Relief Rehabilitation Administration for providing immediate relief to children and mothers who were affected by World War II. In the same year, UNGA established UNICEF to institutionalize post-war relief work.
UNICEF is governed by a 36-member executive board. The board establishes policies, oversees administrative & financial plans and approves programs. Board comprises of government representatives, who are elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council. They are elected for three-year terms.
IMD World Competitive Centre published its “World Talent Ranking Report” on December 9, 2021.
The ranking is structured based on three factors:
The UAE has been ranked first in sub-indexes of readiness of skilled labour, student mobility inbound, competent senior managers and appeal for zero personal income tax.
IMD is an independent academic institution, having Swiss roots and global reach. It was founded 75 years ago for business leaders by business leaders. It has been a pioneering force in developing leaders who can transform the organizations and contribute to society.
On December 9, 2021, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has granted Observer Status to International Solar Alliance (ISA).
It is a historic decision and ISA has become an example of positive global climate action through partnerships in order to benefit global energy growth & development.
The fourth general assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was held in October 2021. In the event, a total of 108 countries participated, including 74 member countries and 34 observer & prospective countries participated. Apart from that, 23 partner organisations and 33 special invitee organisations also participated.
Most of the members of ISA are countries located around tropics. However, countries that do not fall within the Tropics can also join the alliance and avail all benefits as other members. Though, they would not get voting rights.
UNGA is one among the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It serves as the main policymaking, deliberative, and representative organ of the UN. The powers, functions, composition, and procedures of UNGA are set out in Chapter IV of the United Nations Charter. It is responsible for the UN budget. UNGA is the only organisation of UN where all member states have equal representation.
UNICEF India is designing an ambitious and innovative five-year programme, comprising of social policy as a priority across all the sectors.
Kerala had made digital learning accessible. However, it was not case in other States having a digital divide. Digital divide was a new kind of deprivation. Furthermore, in a study of climate effects on children, India had been ranked at fifth place with respect to vulnerability to climate change.
Overall vision of the UNICEF on social protection was for children to have access to inclusive social protection programmes and live free from poverty. For instance, government’s cash grants to children who lost their parents due to COVID-19.
One of the major pillars of new country programme will be evidence-based planning. It will be done in partnership with centres of excellence in order to use reports and studies effectively. The large number of social security programmes will be reviewed and consolidated while few schemes would be prioritised for better coverage.