Daily Current Affairs 13th April 2022
Important News: World
India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue
Why in News?
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar participated in the 4thIndia-USA 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on April 11, 2022 in Washington DC. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin represented the United States.
- All four high officials were present as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden met virtuallyon April 11, ahead of the 2+2 dialogue.
Key Points
Dialogue with the US:
- The US is India’s oldest and most important 2+2 talks partner.
- The first 2+2 dialogue between the two countries was held during the Trump Administration, when then Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and then Secretary of Defence James Mattis met the late Sushma Swaraj and then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi in September 2018.
- The second and third editions of the 2+2 dialogues were held in Washington DC and New Delhi in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Defence and strategic agreements:
- India and the US have signed a troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation, beginning with the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016, followed by the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) after the first 2+2 dialogue in 2018, and then the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in 2020.
2+2 talks between India and allies:
- The 2+2 dialogue is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues.
- India has 2+2 dialogues with four key strategic partners: the US, Australia, Japan, and Russia. Besides Russia, the other three countries are also India’s partners in the Quad.
Source: Indian Express
Important News: India
Utsav Portal
Why in News?
- Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and DONER G. Kishan Reddy inaugurated the 2 days Conference of Amrit Samagam being held from 12th – 13th April in New Delhi.
- During the inaugural day of the 2 days’ Amrit Samagam Conference, G. Kishan Reddy also launched the Utsav Portal.
Key Points
- The Utsav Portal website, a digital initiative launched by the Ministry of Tourism, aims to showcase all the events, festivals and live darshans across India to promote different regions of the country as popular tourist destinations worldwide.
Note:
- The Ministry had also released a digital Calendar on the theme of dedicated tourist sites on AKAM (Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav) on the occasion of National Tourism Day on 25th January.
- The Ministry has sanctioned 03 projects during 2021-22 for a total amount of Rs 112.25 crore, with the objective of integrated development of identified pilgrimage and heritage destinations, under the PRASHAD Scheme.
- The Ministry has also recently revamped its Swadesh Darshan Scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0.
Source: PIB
National Time Release Study, 2022
Why in News
- Vivek Johri, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) released the National Time Release Study (NTRS), 2022.
Key Points
- NTRS 2022 is essentially a performance measurement tool for assessing the cargo clearance process of international trade, as recommended by the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and the World Customs Organization (WCO).
- NTRS covered 15 major Customs formations, including four port categories - seaports, air cargo complexes (ACCs), inland container depot (ICDs) and integrated check posts (ICPs), which handle about 80 percent of the bills of entry (imports documents) and 70 percent of the shipping bills (export documents).
- The NTRS 2022 has reported further improvement in the average cargo release time for all the four port categories in 2022 over corresponding period of the previous year: by 2 percent for ICPs to significantly higher 16 percent for ACCs. For the sea cargo cleared through the sea port or inland container depots average release time has improved by 12 percent.
- With this improvement, the ICPs have achieved the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) target release time to be achieved by 2023, whereas the other three port categories have reached 75 percent of NTFAP target.
Source: PIB
Important News: Appointment
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to be G20 coordinator
Why in News?
- Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla will be appointed as coordinator for the G20 summit, which will be hosted by India in 2023.
Key Points
- Shringla, who retires on April 30, 2022, will take charge of his new role as G20 coordinator on May 1, 2022.
- This is a newly created role for organising the summit. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will remain the G20 sherpa.
- India will hold the presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023.
About the G-20:
- The G-20 is the international forum that brings together the world’s major economies.
- Its members account for more than 80% of world GDP, 75% of global trade and 60% of the population of the planet.
- The G-20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union.
- The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and the US.
Source: Indian Express
Important News: Award and Honours
56th Jnanpith Award presented to Assamese poet Nilamani Phookan
Why in News?
- Eminent Assamese poet Nilamani Phookanwas conferred the 56th Jnanpith Award, the ceremony of which was held for the first time in Assam.
Key Points
- Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the Chairperson of Jnanpith Selection Board Pratibha Ray handed over the trophy, cheque and other mementos to the 88-year-old Phookan.
- Phookan is the third Assamese to receive the Jnanpith Award after novelist Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya (1979) and Mamoni Raisom Goswami (2000).
- Phookan had won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1981 for his poetry collection ‘Kobita’.
- He was conferred with the Padma Shri in 1990 and the Sahitya Academy Fellowship in 2002.
About Jnanpith Award:
- The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature".
Source: Indian Express
PM Narendra Modi to receive inaugural Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award
Why in News?
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be honoured with the inaugural Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award, instituted in the memory of the veteran singer (Lata Mangeshkar) who passed away in February this year.
Key Points
- Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratishthan informed that the award ceremony will be held on 24th of April at Mumbai’s Shanmukhanand Hall.
- The Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Puraskar will be given every year to only one individual who has made path-breaking, spectacular and exemplary contributions to the nation, its people and society.
Source: India Today
Important News: Important Days
April 13, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
Why in News?
- The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919.
Key Points
- Around 50 soldiers of the British Indian Army, under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, fired on unarmed people who had gathered for Baishakhi at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar.
- The people, a majority of whom were Sikhs, had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh to celebrate Baisakhi and also to condemn the arrest and deportation of two freedom fighters, Satya Pal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew.
- According to the British government, 379 people died and 1,200 were wounded in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Source: HT
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