International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

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The Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, M Venkaiah Naidu has recently released a book titled “Gandhi in Champaran” authored by noted author Dinanath Gopal Tendulkar at National Mahatma Gandhi Museum in New Delhi. Naidu also released a book containing a collection of letters and articles of the correspondence between Nobel laureate Romain Rolland and Mahatma Gandhi as well as DG Tendulkar’s 8 volume biography of Mahatama Gandhi.

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International Biodiversity Day is celebrated on 22nd May every year to raise awareness about biodiversity issues. This day commemorates the adoption of the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992. 192 countries are party to this convention to promote sustainable development.

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23rd November is traditionally celebrated as the ‘NCC Day’ to mark the function of raising the first NCC Unit at Delhi.

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The Indian government has designated the Third Week of December every year to observe India Corporate Week. This initiative aims to promote corporate governance, encourage entrepreneurship, and highlight the contributions of the corporate sector to the economy. The week serves as a platform for discussions on business practices and policies, fostering a better understanding of corporate responsibilities.

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Exercise Ekuverin is a joint military exercise held between armies of India and Maldives since 2008.

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The Telugu princess and poet of the Vijayanagar empire, Gangadevi wrote a Sanskrit epic poem, “Madura Vijayam” (the  Conquest of Madurai). The poem describes in detail, the victory of her husband, Kumara Kampana ( son of Bukka Raya I) over  the Madurai Sultanate.

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Around 44 African countries are entering into an agreement to set up AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area) to remove barriers to trade, like tariffs and import quotas, allowing the free flow of goods and services between its members. The agreement will still have to be ratified at a national level, and is only due to come into force in 180 days. This is touted to be biggest free trade agreement since establishment of WTO.

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An INTERPOL notice or International Notice is issued by INTERPOL to share critical crime-related information between its member countries. There are eight types, seven of which are known by their colour codes. Based on requests from National Central Bureaus (NCBs), the General Secretariat produces notices in all of the organization’s official languages: Arabic, English, French and Spanish. Besides these notices are used by the International Criminal Tribunals and the International Criminal Court to seek persons wanted for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

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The President’s Bodyguard (PBG), as it is known today, was raised in 1773 at Benares, by then Governor General Warren Hastings, with a strength of 50 picked troopers and horses. This nucleus of the Bodyguard was later augmented by another 50, provided by Raja Chet Singh of Benares, bringing the overall strength of the Bodyguard up to 100 horses and men by the end of that year.

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The book titled “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” has been authored by founder of Microsoft Corporation and American philanthropist Bill Gates. In the book, Gates will explain why he cares so deeply about climate change and what makes him optimistic that the world can prevent the worst impacts of the climate crisis. The book will hit the stands on June 24, 2020.