Andhra Pradesh Affairs
Pasuvula Panduga Cattle Festival
Pasuvula Panduga is a cattle festival that is observed annually during Kanuma (3rdday of the Sankranthi Festival), to appease the gods for improving and protecting livestock. This festival is held in the Rangampet village of Andhra Pradesh. Around 30 people were injured during the recently held festival with the police booking several cases against the organizers.
Before the start of this event, the cows and bulls are colourfully decorated with trophies being attached to the horns. After that, the animals are forced to go through the narrow road leading to the fields, with villagers on either side.
The purpose of this sport is to snatch the trophies from the horns of the cattle as it runs via the snaky path of the village. At times money ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 is also tied to the horns with a winner takes it all policy. Organizers provide all the prizes that are attached to the horns of the cattle.
National and International Affairs
Fintech Open Hackathon
The leading digital payments platformPhonePeannounced that, NITI Aayog will host the first ever Fintech Open Hackathon by collaborating with it.
The first-ever open-to-all hackathon will be organised with the aim of showcasing path-breaking solutions for fintech
The Hackathon will provide an opportunity for digital creators, developers and innovators, from across India to think, ideate and code.
At the hackathon, Participants are required to use any open-data APIs such as PhonePePulse along with frameworks like Account Aggregator as a foundation to power use cases, such as:
Alternate risk models for lending,
Insurance or investments with a focus on financial inclusion
Innovative products that use power data signals for demographics and goes for broader adoption of financial services;
Improved visualisation and derived intelligence based on digital payments data.
DefExpo 2022 Scheduled In March
The DefExpo 2022 is planned to be held from 10 March to 13 March 2022.
Highlights
DefExpo exhibition is India’s biennial marquee event for the defense manufacturing industry.
It has received confirmation from quite 900 exhibitors.
The final number is predicted to cross quite 1000. The event is held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, for the primary time.
During the event, drone shows are organized for the general public on the theme of the Expo.
Indian Navy also will showcase a number of its assets and capabilities at the Sabarmati riverfront for a larger audience.
Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill
The central government has proposed a law to empower it to repair fertilizers’ maximum asking price and control their quality and distribution.
Highlights:
All stakeholders have been asked to comment on the Department of Fertilizers’ proposed Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022.
It is the convenient public interest that the central government should take under its control on distribution, price, and quality of standards of fertilizers.
The bill seeks to determine India’s Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Authority.
It aims to promote the development and sustainable use of balanced fertilizers, including bio-fertilizers, nano-fertilizers, bio-stimulates, and organic fertilizers.
INSACOG Network Extend To Neighbor Countries
Recently, India announced to increase its “SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network” to neighbor countries to fight against Covid-19.
Highlights
INSACOG may be a network of laboratories for genomic sequencing and surveillance.
India will also implement the “TRIPS waiver,” which is co-sponsored with South Africa to diversify its local manufacturing in regional markets.
As a part of India’s development assistance package amid pandemic, it’s conducted 17 training modules for around 60 countries focused on the entire spectrum of COVID management.
India will take its experience in testing, treating, and vaccinating an outsized population across different geographies and terrains to make customized and tailor-made capacity building and technical training programs for healthcare and frontline workers in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Munich Security Conference
Since 1963, the Munich Security Conference has been held in Munich, Germany, as an annual conference on international security policy. Mnchner Konferenz fr Sicherheitspolitik and Wehrkundetagung were the previous names for the conference. It is the largest meeting of its kind in the world.
The Munich Security Conference has developed into the most important independent venue for international security policy decision-makers to exchange ideas during the last four decades.
Every year, it brings together over 350 top officials from over 70 countries to engage in a discussion on various security concerns. Heads of state, international organizations, and governments as well as members of parliament, ministers, high-ranking military representatives, civil society, science, the media, and business are among those expected to attend this conference.
The conference takes place every year in February in the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, Germany.