Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi and the CSIR-Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (CSIR-TKDL) Unit

• The MoU aims at cooperation related to digitization and inclusion of information on traditional knowledge of India from manuscripts and traditional cultural expressions.
• It will facilitate efforts towards protection and preservation of the manuscript knowledge for current and future times, through inclusion of the information into the TKDL database.
• It is also expected to enable digitization and inclusion of non-written, oral and audio-visual materials related to traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions into the TKDL.

CSIR-TKDL

• The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is a pioneering Indian initiative, jointly by the CSIR and Ministry of AYUSH.
• Aim: To prevent exploitation and to protect Indian traditional knowledge from misappropriation by way of wrongful Intellectual Property Rights.
• The TKDL contains Indian traditional medicine knowledge from classical/ traditional texts related to Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa Rigpa, and Yoga techniques in a digitized format and is available in five international languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese) to patent examiners.

COP15 Montreal: ‘Coalition for Nature’ formed by Small Island Developing States

• The Coalition for Nature is formed for the implementation and adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
• The goal of the coalition is to advocate for agreed common SIDS priorities and needs such as greater means of implementing biodiversity objectives in these places by putting up a unified front.

Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

• It is a new framework that will guide actions worldwide through 2030, to preserve and protect nature and its essential services to people

Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

• SIDS are a distinct group of 38 UN Member States and 20 Non-UN Members/Associate Members of United Nations regional commissions that face unique social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities.
• The three geographical regions in which SIDS are located are: the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS).
• SIDS were recognized as a special case both for their environment and development at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rajasthan’s Tal Chhapar sanctuary gets protection from plan to reduce its size

• The Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is known as the home of blackbuck and a variety of birds in Rajasthan.
• The sanctuary is flanked by the Great India Desert, Thar and boasts a unique ecosystem and is an important birdwatching destination in India.
• Migratory birds in the sanctuary: Harriers, eastern imperial eagles, tawny eagle, short-toed eagle, sparrow, and little green bee-eaters, black ibis and demoiselle cranes, whereas skylarks, crested larks, ring doves, and brown doves are seen round the year.
• Fauna: Desert fox and desert cat can be spotted in the sanctuary.

NASA set to launch first global water survey satellite

• The launched satellite is named as SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography).
• The advanced radar satellite is designed to give an unprecedented view of the life covering 70% of the planet, shedding new light on the mechanics and consequences of climate change.
• The satellite incorporates advanced microwave radar technology which will collect surface measurements of oceans, lakes, reservoirs and rivers in high-definition details.

SWOT is being jointly developed by NASA and Centre National D''Etudes Spatiales (CNES) with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and United Kingdom Space Agency.

Advantages of the satellite:

• It sweeps of the planet at least twice every 21 days, will enhance Ocean circulation models bolster weather and climate forecasts and aid in managing scarce freshwater supplies in drought-stricken regions.
• It is equipped to observe the entire length of nearly all rivers wider than 330 feet and more than 1 million lakes and reservoirs larger than 5 acres.
• It will precisely measure fine differences in surface elevations around smaller currents and eddies, where much the oceans’ drawdown of heat and carbon is believed to occur.

Ladakh gets its first-ever GI Tag to its Raktsey Karpo Apricot

• Ladakh grows more than thirty types of Apricots, but the Raktsey Karpo variety is unique to the region.
• Apricot is the major fruit of Ladakh with large-scale cultivation in both Leh and Kargil Districts among the nine fruits grown in Ladakh.
• Apricot is also being promoted under One District One Product for Kargil.

Geographical Indication Tag

• A Geographical Indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• Geographical indications are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts and industrial products.
• TheGeographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India.
• This GI tag is valid for a period of 10 years following which it can be renewed.

Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission crosses over 40 mn linked health records

• What it is? It aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. It will bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of Healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.
• With health records linked to their ABHA accounts digitally, citizens will be able to access and manage these records as per convenience. This enables citizens to create a comprehensive medical history across various healthcare providers thereby improving clinical decision-making.
• The ABHA(Ayushman Bharat Health Account) Number:

  • It will be used for the purposes of  (only with the informed consent of the patient) across multiple systems and stakeholders.

    uniquely identifying persons, authenticating them, and threading their health records

  • This digital linking of individual’s health records with ABHA is being carried out extensively across different health facilities of the country with the support of State Governments.

• Health Facility Registry (HFR)
• It is a comprehensive repository of health facilities of the nation across different systems of medicine. It includes both public and private health facilities including hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories and imaging centres, pharmacies, etc.
• Enrolling in the Health Facility Registry will enable them to get connected to India''s digital health ecosystem.
• Unified Health Interface (UHI):
• UHI is envisioned as an open protocol for various digital health services. UHI Network will be an open network of End User Applications (EUAs) and participating Health Service Provider (HSP) applications.
• UHI will enable a wide variety of digital health services between patients and health service providers (HSPs) including appointment booking, teleconsultation, service discovery and others.

North Eastern Council (NEC) makes significant contributions to the socio-economic development of the North Eastern region

• North Eastern Council (NEC) is under the administrative purview of Ministry of Development of the North-Eastern Region (MDoNER).
• NEC is not a constitutional body, but a statutory organization established under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971, as amended in 2002.
• It is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern Region which consists of the eight States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
• The Council comprises Governors and Chief Ministers of constituent States and three members nominated by the President.

India launches ‘Group of Friends’ to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers

• This Group of Friends will act as a platform to promote accountability for all acts of violence against the United Nations peacekeepers by facilitating support to the host state, creating awareness, exchanging information, sharing best practices, supporting initiatives, and mobilizing resources.
• Bangladesh, Egypt, France, India, Morocco and Nepal have joined the group as co-chairs to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers.
• Group of Friends represents the "political will" of member states, particularly of the troop and police contributing countries, to champion the implementation of the provisions of U**.N. Security Council resolution 2589**, which was adopted in August last year under India’s Presidency of the Council.
  • Resolution 2589 had called upon member states, hosting or having hosted United Nations peacekeeping operations, to take all appropriate measures to bring to justice perpetrators of the killing of, and all acts of violence against United Nations personnel, including, but not limited to, their detention and abduction.

What is Twitter’s new anti-doxxing policy?

• A contraction of the phrase, "dropping documents", doxxing is the act of revealing personal or identity-revealing information about someone online, such as their real

  name, personal documents, phone number, home address, workplace, and other financial information.

• In the process of doxxing, personal information is circulated in the public sphere without the knowledge of the victim, and in some cases, causing real-life consequences.

• It is a popular and controversial tactic used against those with opposing political views and sometimes even celebrities and influencers have been doxxed with real-life consequences.

• In many cases, harassers have used this private information to send SWAT teams or armed police to the homes of many of the victims.

The 63rd Session Of The IHRC Will Be Organized On 18-19 December

• IHRC (Indian Historical Records Committee) is an all-India Forum of creators, custodians and users of records which was set up in 1919 to advice the Government of India on all issues connected with the management of records and their use for historical research.
• The National Archives of India, New Delhi is the Secretariat of Indian Historical Records Committee (re-designated Indian Historical Records Committee in 1911).
• The IHRC is headed by the Union Minister of Culture and comprises 134 members including agencies of the Government of India, nominees of the Government of India, representatives from the State/UT Archives, Universities and Learned Institutions. The IHRC has so far held 62 sessions.
• The Committee has two adjunct bodies :
  • Editorial Committee to examine and approve papers based on archival sources for being presented at the Sessions of the Committees
  • Standing Committee to review the action taken by the Committee on its recommendations and express its views on the agenda for the Committee’s meeting. Secretary, Ministry of Culture acts as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of IHRC.