Government to establish first maritime museum at Lothal:
The government is to establish a National Maritime Heritage Museum, at Lothal, a Harappan site on the Saurashtra coast in Gujarat. The move aims to boost the underwater or marine archaeology. Lothal site is one of the oldest ports in India dating to the Bronze Age.
National Maritime Heritage Museum:
♦ The Maritime Museum is being set up with technical help from the Portuguese Maritime Heritage Museum.
♦ The government has appointed the first Director-General for the museum. The DG will be attached to the Maritime Board of the Gujarat government.
♦ The Museum will be an independent research centre of underwater archaeology for the reconstruction of maritime history, the archaeology of boat building and materials traded.
♦ The museum will display salvaged material from shipwreck sites in the Indian Ocean waters.
Note: Underwater archaeology is the study of archaeology that involves recovering submerged remains such as shipwrecks, ports, and studying proxy records of maritime activity from archaeological excavations, archival and historical records.
Himachal Pradesh approved to sell Yamuna water:
The Himachal Pradesh State Cabinet approved to sign the memorandum of understanding (MoU) to sell the water of River Yamuna from Maharashtra`s share at Tajewala corridor. The Cabinet meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. With this decision, the State would earn Rs.21 crore per annum.
Yamuna river:
The Yamuna is the longest tributary in India. It originates from the Yamunotri Glacier. It is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges. The rivers cross several states namely Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
Himachal Pradesh:
State formed on: 25 January 1971
Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya
Chief Justice: Lingappa Narayana Swamy
Chief Minister: Jai Ram Thakur
Official language: Hindi
The state borders with:
♦ UN Jammu and Kashmir and Ut Ladakh on the north
♦ Punjab on the west
♦ Tibet on the east
♦ Uttarakhand on the southeast
♦ Haryana on the southwest
♦ Uttar Pradesh on the south (southern most tip)
Mysore University to set up separate Department of Disabilities and Rehabilitation Studies:
The University of Mysore (UoM) is to set up a separate Department of Disabilities and Rehabilitation Studies (DDRS) on its campus at Manasagangotri. It was approved by the University of Mysore Academic Council. The announcement was made by the Vice-Chancellor G Hemantha Kumar.
With this, UoM became the first varsity in the state to introduce the course, as per the directives of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Aim:
The University aims to help the welfare of disabled persons. The students can study the course along with the PG departments in Psychology, Food Science and Nutrition, Physical Education and Master of Social Work (MSW). It encourages the studies in disabilities.
DDRS in University of Mysore:
♦ DDRS will come into effect from the next academic year 2019-20.
♦ It will be set up in the Department of Studies in Physical Education and Sports Sciences.
♦ The University will offer Rs.500 per month as stipend to students who join the course.
###India ranked 73rd in the 2019 E-commerce Index:
India ranked 73rd in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development`s (UNCTAD) Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce Index 2019.The ranking was conducted for 152 countries. The Netherlands topped the index for the second consecutive year.
The survey was conducted among 152 countries. The index measured an economy`s preparedness to support online shopping.The index marked the readiness of the countries that are engaged in online commerce. The survey also included a parameter where the portion of every country`s population that uses the internet and has an account with a financial institution or mobile-money-service provider.
The least developed countries occupy 18 of the 20 bottom positions. Among the 20 economies that ranked the lowest value in the 2019 index, 18 are the least developed countries.Comoros, Burundi, Chad, and Niger holds the last positions in the index.
India has slightly improved its position from 80 in 2018 and 83 in 2017. India Internet shoppers as a share of Internet users were 11% and Internet shoppers as a share of population of 3% in 2017.Countries are measured on the access to secure internet servers, the reliability of postal services and infrastructure.
Ravneet Singh took charge as the Chief of Personnel of the Indian Navy:
Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh took charge as the Chief of Personnel of the Indian Navy on 2 December 2019. He replaced Vice Admiral R Hair Kumar.He will be heading the Personnel Branch of the Indian Navy.He will be responsible for all personal issues of Service and Civilian manpower of the Navy including training, induction, discipline, career management, pay, and allowances.
Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh is a qualified flying instructor with Master Green Instrument Rating. He was commissioned on 1 July 1983.
He served as a Flag Officer. He has held various appointments as Assistant Controller Warship Production in the Assistant Controller Carrier Project and Acquisition at IHQ MoD(N), Flag Officer Goa Area, Flag Officer Naval Aviation at Goa, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet at Mumbai, Chief of Staff at Headquarters Western Naval Command at Mumbai, and Director General Project Seabird at IHQ MoD(N).
Centre has banned more than 14,500 NGOs in the last 5 years:
Ministry of Home Affairs reported that more than 14,500 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have been banned in the last five years.Those NGOs were registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The report was submitted by the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.
The Ministry has also has cancelled FCRA registration of 1,808 NGOs so far. The certificates have been cancelled for non-submission of mandatory annual returns for 2017-18.The FCRA and rules provide that all FCRA NGOs and associations should file annual returns on time.
The non-compliant NGOs are issued notices and reminders through the online mechanism.The FCRA registered NGOs in India have been given a total of Rs.2,244.77 crore in 2018-19, as on 28 November 2019, and Rs.16,902.41 crore in 2017-18.
International Volunteer Day is observed on 5 December:
International Volunteer Day is observed on 5 December every year. The day provides a unique chance for volunteers and organizations to celebrate their efforts, to share their values.It also promotes the work by various communities, United Nations agencies, government authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector.
The day is observed to increase the awareness of the important contribution of volunteer service. It aims to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.On 17 December 1985, the United Nations General Assembly passed the resolution to observe the International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development.
The day was instituted to provide a chance for individual volunteers, communities, and organizations to join with the UN to promote their contributions to development at the local, national and international levels.On 22 November 2002, the UNGA directed the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme to ensure that the potential of International Volunteer Day is fully realized.
Cipla Foundation introduced MSL to provide quality education:
Cipla Foundation has introduced a mobile science lab (MSL) under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) with its Agastya International Foundation.It implemented the Agastya International Foundation.It aims to provide quality education to the students in Sikkim.The initiative also aimed to create awareness of science among children and teachers.
The mobile science lab is expected to reach out to 1,400 students across 10 schools in the periphery of the Golden Cross Unit.The Lab will maximize the potential of every child. The students can learn through the mobile science lab and use the opportunity to prepare for state-level science workshops.
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