International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

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National Sports Day is celebrated on August 29 in India. This day marks the birthday of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand, regarded as one of the greatest field hockey players of all time. National Sports Day aims to raise awareness on the importance of sports and physical fitness.

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Vijay Diwas is celebrated in India on December 16 to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. The day is celebrated to honour the martyrs of the 1971 war between the two countries. On this day in 1971, about 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to the Indian forces. This historic victory led to creation of Bangladesh.

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In 2009, Infosys came under the security blanket of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), becoming the first private firm to be protected by the force which usually guard government installations.

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The International Network of Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) is headquartered in Beijing, China. Established in 1997, INBAR focuses on promoting bamboo and rattan as sustainable resources for economic development and environmental conservation. Bamboo is known for its rapid growth and versatility, making it a key material in sustainable construction and crafts.

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The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries. It has 7 ASEAN countries. It was established in 1989.

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Ping pong diplomacy refers to the brief thaw in relations between the United States and China in the early 1970s, which was facilitated in part by the exchange of table tennis players between the two countries. In April 1971, a group of American table tennis players visited China for a tournament, and the Chinese government invited them to stay for several days. This marked the first time in more than 20 years that Americans had been allowed to visit China. The visit was followed by several high-level diplomatic meetings between the two countries, which ultimately led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and China in 1979.

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AFSPA became a law on September 11, 1958. Initially, it was applicable to the seven Northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. This was so because in all these states there were movements of ethnic groups demanding separation from India. The government felt that such insurgencies could be checked through deployment of the armed forces, and they would need special powers to carry out their responsibilities. AFSPA was extended to J&K in 1990, on similar considerations.

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Brahmos missile is able to engage ground targets from an altitude as low as 10 metres for surgical strikes without any collateral damage.

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The eminent Telugu poet Allasani Peddana, revered as one of the Ashtadiggajas (the group of eight Telugu poets) in the royal court of Krishnadevaraya, a distinguished ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, is the author of “Manucharitam”. This work is crucial for its expansion of an episode in the Markandeya Purana that recounts the birth of Svarochishamanu, who is recognized as one of the fourteen Manus, shaping human generations.

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Abul Fazal was the author of Ain-i-Akabari, the third volume of the book “Akbarnama”. The book gives the administrative details of Akbar’s time.