Three-day international literary festival Unmesh begins in Himachal Pradesh

• This festival was organized for the first time by the Union Ministry of Culture and the Sahitya Akademi with the support of the state Department of Art and Culture as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The festival, with the title “Unmesh- a celebration of expression”, is the biggest international literary festival in the country so far. Over 425 writers, poets, translators and critics from 15 countries, representing over 60 languages, attended the event.

BIS develops Indian Standard for non-electric cooling cabinet made of clay

• Named as ‘Mitticool refrigerator’, Shri Mansukh Bhai Prajapati from Gujarat is the innovator behind the refrigerator which projects an eco-friendly technology.
• BIS standard specifies the construction and performance requirements of a cooling cabinet made out of clay, which operates on the principle of evaporative cooling.
• It is a natural refrigerator made primarily from clay to store vegetables, fruits, milk, and also for cooling water.
• It provides natural coolness to foodstuffs stored in it without requiring any electricity. Fruits, vegetables, and milk can be stored reasonably fresh without deteriorating their quality.
• In this era, where the world is dominated by technology and advancement, there are people in our country who still bank on traditional cooling. Clay pots have been an integral part of Indian kitchens until factory-made products of variety of materials invaded the market.

Volume of trade from three Border Crossing Points between Bangladesh-India to rise by 50 percent by 2027: Asian Development Bank (ADB).

• The South Asia Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation Integrated Trade Facilitation (SASEC) Sector Development Program (SDP) will reform trade policies and improve the cross-border trade facilities at Akhaura, Sonamasjid and Tamabil BCPs.
• It will also increase connectivity among SASEC countries by facilitating trade among the SASEC countries through Bangladesh as a sub-regional hub.
• ADB believes in advancing regionalism and hence has launched the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Program, the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program, and the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Program.
• The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in a project-based partnership that aims to promote regional prosperity and improve economic opportunities.

India-Japan hold finance dialogue in New Delhi

• Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs of Japan Masato Kanda and Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance Ajay Seth led their sides in this first India-Japan Finance Dialogue.
• In view of the growing importance of India-Japan relations in recent years, the dialogue on India-Japan financial cooperation, which had been held at the level of Deputy Director-Generals, was upgraded to the level of Vice Minister/Secretary.
• The participants confirmed that both sides will continue to work closely together as they hold presidency of G20 and G7 next year.

Amid protests, Modi government increases upper-age limit to 23 for recruitment under Agnipath scheme

• A large number of youth will be benefited by this decision and they will move forward towards their brighter future by serving to the nation.
• Government officials also released a note on “myths and facts” regarding the scheme.
• The note said it was a myth that “21-year-olds are immature and unreliable” and at no point of time will there be more youth than experienced people among the ranks. The number of Agniveers to be recruited in the first year would only make up 3% of the armed forces.

Draft guidelines for operationalization of Ro-Ro and Ro-Pax ferry service along the Indian coast

• The guidelines encompass the two aspects of ferry operation namely –
  • concessions for terminal operation and
  • license for operation of Ro-Pax vessels.
• These guidelines will homogenize and streamline the development and operations of ferry services, along with, promoting ease of doing business by eliminating unnecessary delays.
• Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, under its Sagarmala Programme, has embarked on developing an ecosystem for the promotion of Ro-Ro ferry and waterway transportation in the country.
• This mode of transportation has multiple benefits including reduced travel time, reduced logistics cost and lower pollution in comparison to conventional mode of transportation.
• In view of immense potential and distinct advantages of ferry service, the Ministry is financially supporting 45 projects with total project cost of Rs. 1900 Crore.
• Under the gambit of Sagarmala, Ministry has operationalized Ro-Pax Ferry service between Ghogha - Hazira in Gujarat and Mumbai - Mandwa in Maharashtra.

Global Wind Day or World Wind Day is a worldwide event that occurs annually on 15th of June.

• It is organised by WindEurope and GWEC (Global Wind Energy Council).
• It is a day for discovering wind energy, its power and the possibilities it holds to reshape our energy systems, decarbonise our economies and boost jobs and growth.
• India currently has the fourth-highest wind installed capacity in the world with total installed capacity of 39.25 Giga Watt as on 31st March 2021 and has generated around 60.149 Billion Units during 2020-21.
• The government is promoting wind power projects by providing various fiscal and financial incentives such as Accelerated Depreciation benefit and concessional custom duty exemption on certain components of wind electric generators.
• It also provides technical support including wind resource assessment and identification of potential sites through the National Institute of Wind Energy, Chennai.

Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers'' Meeting

• The SAIFMM was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan. The Meeting was also attended by Foreign Ministers of other ASEAN Countries.
• The ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of sectoral partnership in 1992 which graduated to full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and summit level partnership in 2002. The ties were elevated to a strategic partnership in 2012.
• The ASEAN comprises Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia and Myanmar.