Today in History (Mar 21st, 1887)
(L) Manabendra Nath Roy, popularly known as M.N. Roy, was born on 21st March, 1887, in West Bengal. He founded the Communist Party of India on 26th December, 1925, in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Japanese Prime Minister calls for unified stand on global order
Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, launched the ‘New Plan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ and invited India as one of the special invitees to the G-7 Summit, 2023, to be held from May 19-21, in Hiroshima in Japan. He called for unified stand by India and Japan, on Russia-Ukraine crisis, for maintaining the international order.
XBB1.16 variant
The XBB1.16 variant of Omicron is responsible for recent spike in COVID-19 cases in India. According to the Government data, Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat have reported the greatest number of active cases of XBB1.16. The mutation in spike protein of XBB1.16 enables the virus to escape immunity.
Human Development Index (HDI)
According to the Human Development Report, 2021-22, India was ranked 132nd among 191 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) behind Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP.) HDI measures the level of human development based on three aspects: – a long and healthy life, a decent standard of living and knowledge.
International Year of Millets
The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets to increase the production and consumption of millets to address nutritional security and boost farmers’ income. India is the largest producer of millets in the world. In the Union Budget 2023-24, the Indian Institute of Millets Research in Hyderabad as a centre of excellence.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries aim to revive Buddhist culture
India organised a conference on ‘Shared Buddhist Heritage’ under the ambit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to re-establish cross cultural links by seeking commonalities between Buddhist art of Central Asia and other members of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation. The conference was organised by the Union Ministry of Culture, Union Ministry of External Affairs and the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC.)
