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National Teachers’ Award 2023
News: At Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, President Droupadi Murmu will present the National Teachers’ Award 2023 to 75 chosen Awardees at the auspicious occasion of Teachers Day i.e. 5th of September, 2023.
About the Award
- The 2023 National Teacher Awards more than 100 educators participating from every state in the union.
- The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, has chosen 50 teachers from throughout the nation to get this honour.
- The National Teachers’ Award now includes teachers from the Department of Higher Education and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
- Each award comes with a certificate of merit, a monetary prize of Rs. 50,000, and a silver medal.
- Reason for such award: The goal of the National Teachers’ Award is to recognize the distinctive contributions of teachers in the country and to honour those educators who, by their commitment and dedication, have not only increased the quality of education but also impacted the lives of their pupils.
- Teachers day: The day commemorates the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, an educationist and former President.
| Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Born in Thiruthani, Tamil Nadu, on September 5, 1888.
His writings on philosophy and literature ● He popularised Indian philosophy with his book, “The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore” and Advaita Vedanta served as the foundation for his philosophy. ● He was a key figure in the development of modern Hindu identity and defended Hinduism against “uninformed Western criticism.” ● His other writings include: East and West: Some Reflections (1955), The Philosophy of the Upanishads (1924), An Idealist View of Life (1932), Eastern Religions and Western Thought (1939), and Indian Philosophy (1923–27). Positions held, honours and awards ● At the University of Chicago, he was appointed Haskell lecturer in Comparative Religion in 1930. ● In 1931, he was made a knight, and in 1963, he was made an honorary member of the British Royal Order of Merit. ● In 1948, he won the position of executive board chairman of UNESCO. ● In 1954, he received the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour. ● In 1946, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly. He had previously worked as an ambassador to Moscow and the UNESCO. ● He was elected India’s first vice president in 1952 and the country’s second president in 1962. |
Green Hydrogen Pilots in India
News
- A one-day conference on “Green Hydrogen Pilots in India” on 6th of September 2023 will take place in New Delhi and before the G20 summit, and it will highlight several Green Hydrogen Pilot Projects being carried out by Indian businesses in the public and private sectors.
- It is being hosted by NTPC (Min. of Power) and will see the attendee of R. K. Singh, Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy.
Benefits of the conference
- The conversations during the event will promote sharing of successes and difficulties faced by the early movers and aid in knowledge assimilation. The pilot projects will also aid in overcoming technological obstacles, creating regional supply networks, and improving future techno-economic viability.
- In addition to illuminating the way forward, the conference will encourage coordinated efforts to realize the goals of the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
| National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM)
● About NGHM ○ In order to encourage the commercial production of green hydrogen and turn India into a net exporter of the fuel, this programme was created. ○ The Mission will promote the development of Green Hydrogen demand, as well as its production, use, and export. ● Sub Scheme under NGHM: Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition Programme (SIGHT) , is a program that: ○ It will provide funding for the home production of electrolysers and generate clean hydrogen. ○ Green Hydrogen Hubs: States and regions that can sustain large-scale hydrogen production and/or utilisation will be identified and developed as Green Hydrogen Hubs. Aim of NGHM ○ Developing green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonnes) per year, as well as increasing renewable energy capacity of around 125 GW (gigatonne) in India by 2030. ○ Six lakh jobs are anticipated to be created, and it seeks to involve over Rs 8 lakh crore in total investments. ○ Additionally, it will result in a cumulative decrease of over Rs 1 lakh crore in fossil fuel imports as well as a reduction of nearly 50 MT in yearly greenhouse gas emissions.
Green Hydrogen definition according to GoI notification ● The government has announced the Green Hydrogen Standard for India, which is a key step for the National Green Hydrogen Mission. ● The emission levels that must be met in order for hydrogen production to be categorized as “Green,” or coming from renewable sources, are set forth in the standard published by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India and MNRE will also give precise methodology for measurement, reporting, monitoring, on-site verification, and certification of green hydrogen and its derivatives. ● The definition’s scope includes both electrolysis- and biomass-based hydrogen generation processes. ● The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has decided to define green hydrogen as having a well-to-gate emission (i.e., including water treatment, electrolysis, gas purification, drying, and compression of hydrogen) of not more than 2 kg CO2 equivalent/kg H2) after discussions with numerous stakeholders. ● The notification further states that the Ministry of Power’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) shall serve as the Nodal Authority for the accreditation of organizations for the monitoring, verification, and certification of projects for the production of green hydrogen. ● With the release of this notification, India is one of the first few nations in the world to announce a definition of green hydrogen. |
6th Rashtriya Poshan Maah
News: The 6th Rashtriya Poshan Maah, which is being celebrated throughout the month of September, 2023 by the WCD Ministry, aims to promote nutritional awareness throughout India.
Objective of the celebration: Poshan Maah’s goal is to fully address malnutrition through a life-cycle strategy and to raise awareness of the crucial human life periods of pregnancy, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
Working of the celebration: During this month-long event, focused efforts will be made around the country to increase widespread nutritional knowledge through campaigns centred on important themes related to ‘Improving Nutrition through Mission LiFE, Exclusive Breastfeeding and Complementary Feeding’.
| Mission LiFE
● It has been launched as a global programme called Mission LiFe (lifestyle for environment) to support efforts to combat climate change and promote sustainable living in order to meet the U.N.’s goals for sustainable development. ● India first proposed the concept of LiFE at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Glasgow in 2021. ● The concept encourages a green lifestyle that emphasizes “mindful and deliberate utilization” as opposed to “mindless and wasteful consumption.” ● The Mission embodies the spirit of the P3 model, i.e., Pro Planet People, since it is founded on the fundamental principles of ‘Lifestyle of the planet, for the planet, and by the planet’. |
Spamouflage
News: Numerous social media accounts that were a part of Spamouflage have lately been blocked by Meta.
About
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- An online spam campaign run by Chinese nationals and has a Chinese origin is called spamouflage.
- It promotes storylines that are beneficial for China while being antagonistic of the United States, Western foreign policy, and Chinese government critics.
Targets: Chinese-speaking audiences in Taiwan, the United States, Australia, Britain, and Japan.
What it does?
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- Political posts frequently appear in between personal posts on the campaign accounts. Example: It published articles regarding Russia’s attack on Ukraine on fake versions of European mainstream news websites before spreading them online.
- Over 50 networks and forums have seen activity from it, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter.
Recent action: The European Union recently imposed sanctions on companies that participated in the campaign.
| Why such hate and fake campaigns?
● In today’s digital world, fake news or inaccurate information, or campaigns like Spamouflage is becoming a bigger problem. ● It is characterized as information that has been produced or altered and spread with the aim of misleading or deceiving the general audience. ● Fake news can have detrimental effects, such as spreading fear and uncertainty or instigating violence and hatred. Fake news and content can have a significant, negative, and long-lasting impact on society in this situation. ● Effects of such campaigns or fake manipulation ○ It can be used to sway public opinion, win popularity, or tarnish the reputations of opponents or select people in order to discredit them. ○ It has an impact on social and communal cohesion by disseminating extremist views, particularly in sensitive areas such as radicalization of youngsters, inciting violence and hatred among communities, swinging public opinion, and so on. ● What can be done? ○ People need to be made aware of the danger fake news poses and how it is spread i.e. awareness. ○ News that is accurate: To disseminate true news, official government accounts should be active on social media. ○ Social media companies should step up and propose solutions to the problem of fake news. |
Modi Jakarta visit (G20)
News
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- On September 6 and 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits on invitation from Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia.
- The Prime Minister will attend both the 18th East Asia Summit and the 20th ASEAN-India Summit while in Indonesia, which is currently hosting ASEAN.
Benefits of such visits
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- The upcoming ASEAN-India Summit would be the first summit since India and ASEAN’s relations were upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022. The summit will evaluate the development of relations between India and ASEAN and set the course for future cooperation.
- There had been few hiccups in the past few years and this visit will halp in increasing trade and security relations between India and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) 10-member nation;
- The East Asia Summit will give leaders of ASEAN nations and its eight dialogue partners, including India, the chance to discuss issues of regional and international importance.
| About ASEAN
About G20
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