World Population Day 2022 observed globally on 11 July
World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 to raise awareness about global population issues. The major purpose of this day is to raise awareness of all the negative impacts that population growth has had on the steady development of nature. Globally, this day is celebrated by organising seminars, discussions, educational sessions, public contests, slogans, workshops, debates, songs, etc.
World Population Day 2022: Theme
The theme for this year is “A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all – Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all”. As the theme suggests, there are 8 billion people living today but not all of them have equal rights and opportunities.
World Population Day: History
It was founded in 1989 by the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme. On July 11, 1990, the day was first observed in more than 90 nations. Since then, a number of UNFPA national offices as well as other organizations and institutions, in collaboration with governments and civil society, have observed World Population Day.
Sri Lankan President Flees away as the protestors invaded the Official Residence
Sri Lankan protesters broke through police barricades and entered the official residence of the President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The President of Sri Lanka had to flee away from his residence as soon as the protestors entered the residence in Colombo. The protestors arrived from across the country in buses, trains, and trucks to Colombo to protest against the President.
The protestors wanted to express their anger over the government for mismanagement and failure to protect them from the economic crisis. People are protesting against the government, shouting slogans against the president, and dismantling the police barricades to reach the President’s house. The police tried to stop the protestors by firing shots in the air, but they were unable to stop the massive crowd. During the protest, 21 people, and two police were injured.
Sri Lanka’s PM to Summon an Emergency Meeting
The Prime minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced an emergency party leader meeting to discuss the current situation after the President flees away. He also requested the speakers to summon parliament. The meeting will decide what will be the solution for putting a hold on the ongoing protest against the government.
Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis
Sri Lanka has almost a population of 22 million people and all of them are struggling with the economic crisis. The country has no funds for foreign exchange, and limited food, fuel, and medicines. The Covid-19 pandemic made the situation worse as tourism in the country also stopped which earlier used to contribute a good share to the GDP of the country. The schools and government offices are closed till further notice due to a shortage of oil. The lack of foreign exchange reserves and local currency depreciation has fuelled the shortage.
Alvaro Lario named as new President of IFAD
The governing council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has been appointed as Spain’s Alvaro Lario new President. Lario will take office on 1 October 2022 and serve a four-year term. He will succeed Gilbert Houngbo who has led the organisation since 2017.
Key points:
Lario, who would become IFAD 7th president, will lead the UN agency at a crucial time when global food prices are surging, induced by the Ukraine war, climate change, and the pandemic, with the World’s poorest countries hardest hit.
New figures published by five UN agencies including IFAD showed the world falling further behind in efforts to end hunger and poverty in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition report showed that hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million in 2021, an increase of about 150 million since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
National Capital Region Planning Board’s geo-portal “Pariman” now accessible for public
Geo-Portal for NCR known as ‘PARIMAN’ was launched on 31.08.2021 in the 40th meeting of the Board by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Chairman, NCRPB and Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs. For the purpose of effective utilization of remote sensing and GIS technology, a web geo-portal has been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC), initially for use by the National Capital Region (NCR) participating states and the office of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).
This Geo-Portal will help to improve decentralized planning and management in the NCR region. The Portal consists of around 179 Layers presented as Line, Point & Polygon features covering details of various sectors like Land Use, Transport, Industries, Water, Power, Health, Shelter, Heritage & Tourism, Disaster Management, etc.
CUET 2022: Central Universities from the North Eastern States exempted
The Union Education Minister has a major announcement for the candidates and the universities regarding the CUET 2022. The central Universities in the North Eastern States and Uttarakhand have been exempted from the CUET 2022 norms. The official statement issued by the Ministry states that “Considering the operational difficulties in conducting the exam of CUET 2022, i.e. the issue of geographical conditions, hilly terrain, far-flung location, limited digital connectivity, infrastructure, etc. It has been decided that central Universities of North Eastern Regions namely Sikkim University, Rajiv Gandhi University, Manipur University, Assam University, Nagaland University, Tripura University, Mizoram University, NEHU as well HNB Garhwal University, Uttarakhand may take admission in the affiliated colleges to the central Universities as per the past practice instead of CUET for the year 2022-23 only.”
CUET 2022: Exam updates
The exam dates for Common University Entrance Test (CUET) has been announced by the National Testing Agency on 22 June 2022. The exams are going to be held from 15th July to 10 August 2022. For more details Student can refer to the official website cuet.samarth.ac.in. or the official website of National Testing Agency (NTA), nta.ac.in
Meghalaya CM plea for exemption of universities
The government made it compulsory for all center universities to consider the scores of CUET for admissions for the academic year of 2022-23. It applied to both private and government-aided universities. The Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad K Sangma has written a letter and requested the Education minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, to give Meghalaya relaxation for the CUET 2022, as the state is lacking preparedness for exams, it was a plea from both students and the authorities.
In his letter, the CM of Meghalaya states that ” You may be aware that Meghalaya has 12 Districts and the identified exam center for CUET is only in Shillong which would likely to carter 25,000 aspirants from across the state. This scenario is likely to cause a lot of distress and anxiety Among the students, especially from outlying districts.” He urged the government to ” provide state ample time to spread awareness and critical information on CUET to all the students and sufficient time for them to prepare.” A few weeks after the letter was received, the CM of Meghalaya took it.to Twitter and thanked the education minister for exemption of non-centrally funded or private colleges and state government aided universities from appearing for the CUET exams in 2022
Reasons for the exemption of universities
The reasons are mentioned in the statement issued by the government which says that the North Eastern States and Uttarakhand are being exempted because of the following difficulties to organize the CUET 2022.
Geographical conditions
Hilly terrain
Far-flung location
LImited digital connectivity
Infrastructure
These are the reasons stated by the government to ensure that there is clear communication. The reasons stated are major steps to ensure that candidates get fair decisions.
CUET 2022: Exempted Universities
Sikkim university
Rajiv Gandhi university
Manipur University
Assam University
Nagaland University
Tripura university
Mizoram University
North-Eastern Hill university, Meghalaya
HNB Garhwal University, Uttarakhand
CUET 2022
CUET stands for Central University Entrance Test, which is organized by National Testing Agency (NTA). CUET registration will end soon and only the students who completed the registration process will be considered eligible candidates. The candidates who appear for the exam and quality will be able to take admitted to reputed central Universities in India. All the candidates must check the official website to get the latest updates on the CUET 2022. The mode of exam is online and the duration is 2 hours. There will be 100 MCQs and 0.25 negative markings for wrong answers.
FAQs related to CUET 2022
1. Is CUET compulsory for private colleges? And. CUET 2022 has been exempted from 9 universities in India. Meghalaya private colleges and state government-aided universities are also included.
2. What is the use of CUET 2022? And. CUET is a Central University Entrance Test that students take to get admission to all undergraduate programs in central Universities.
3. Is CUET conducted online? And. For the academic year of 2022-23, CUET will be conducted online or computer-based.
4. When is the last day of CUET 2022 registration? And. The last day to get registered for CUET 2022, is 22nd May 2022. The NTA will close the portal at 5:00 PM.
UP becomes first state to have 13 expressways in the nation
Uttar Pradesh‘s largest expressway network now has a foundation thanks to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The state will soon have better highway connectivity from many other nations throughout the world. The state now boasts 13 expressways, making it the first state in the nation to do so. Six of the 13 expressways totaling 3200 km are in use while the other seven are under construction.
KEY POINTS:
On July 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially open the 296 kilometre long Bundelkhand Expressway, which will link Bundelkhand and Delhi. In the last five years, CM Yogi has drastically altered the state’s infrastructure.
The BJP government has put a lot of effort into revitalising the roads after realising that infrastructure is the economic growth engine and that roads are a reflection of advancement.
A network of roadways linking other states and other nations has been established, starting from the hamlet and continuing through the streets to block and district offices. In 70 years, just 1.5 expressways were constructed.
The NCR and western UP population’s long-standing request has been met by the double engine government. Taking the Delhi-Meerut Expressway as an illustration. Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the cornerstone for the 594 kilometre long Ganga Expressway.
This expressway will help to bridge the hearts as well as shorten the distance between East and West. In addition, the construction of the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway, Gorakhpur Link Expressway, Ghazipur-Ballia-Manjhighat Expressway, and Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will benefit all residents of the state. In addition, industrial corridors are being constructed beside motorways and expressways.
Rapid, balanced, and inclusive growth as well as significant job potential will be accelerated by these corridors. There are designated lands for this. In case of an emergency, airstrips are also being constructed for Air Force aircraft to land and take off.
People would have access to Delhi and other states thanks to the Bundelkhand Expressway. People in the districts of Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya, and Etawah would profit from this. People will gain from the direct connection between Bundelkhand and Delhi, and Bundelkhand will be free of the stigma of being behind.
Internet exchanges launched in Durgapur and Bardhaman by National Internet Exchange of India
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India, inaugurated two new Internet Exchange Points (IXP) of NIXI at Durgapur and Vardhman in the presence of S. S. Ahluwalia, Member of Parliament for Bardhaman-Durgapur Lok Sabha, in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India vision to connect every Indian. It is under the 1000-day plan of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Key Points:
The National Internet Exchange of India also manages the first Internet Exchange in the state of Kolkata (NIXI).
With the opening of two new Internet Exchange Points in Durgapur and Bardhaman, it is currently increasing its presence throughout the state.
The opening of these new NIXI internet exchanges throughout the state will help to advance and improve broadband and Internet services both locally and in surrounding areas.
By improving their broadband services to their end users and changing the lives of the people in the area, the internet service providers connecting at these sites will gain.
Every sector of the state will benefit from the opening of these new IXPs, including MSMEs and other business sectors as well as the health, education, agricultural, and startup ecosystems.
Citizens will have greater access to government benefits and convenience, which will raise their standard of living.
The two new Internet Exchange nodes from NIXI will undoubtedly improve the Internet ecosystem of the region.
About NIXI:
NIXI intends to establish such internet exchanges in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities soon in order to enhance the whole Indian internet ecosystem and provide internet users with access to it at a low cost with increased speed.
NIXI extends an invitation to all ISPs to set up peering at any of its nodes and assist the domestic Internet ecosystem.
R K Gupta named as deputy Election commissioner
Senior bureaucrat R K Gupta was appointed as the deputy election commissioner, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. He comes in place of T Sreekanth. Gupta, a Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer, will serve as deputy election commissioner (Joint secretary level) till 28 February next year, the date of his superannuation.