Correct Answer :   12th December

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International Day of Neutrality is commemorated on December 12 every year to raise awareness regarding the importance of neutrality in intergovernmental relations and to strengthen peace and security at the global level. As per the United Nations, neutrality is the legal status arising from the abstention of a country from any kind of participation in a war between other states and maintaining an impartial attitude toward the belligerents.

* The day is marked globally by holding various types of events aimed at raising public awareness of the value of neutrality in international relations.

International Day Of Neutrality History :

* The idea of the International Day of Neutrality was proposed by Turkmenistan, a country in Central Asia which has been recognised as a permanent neutral state by the United Nations since December 1995.

* The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) approved the proposal on February 2, 2017.

* On December 12, 2017, the International Day of Neutrality was proclaimed. It also highlights the link between peacekeeping and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

* The resolution recognised how some states’ national neutrality policies can help in improving global peace and security and play a major role in promoting friendly ties between several nations across the world.

International Day Of Neutrality Significance :

* Neutrality can help to strengthen international peace and security, and can also play an important role in developing mutually beneficial relationships between countries around the world.

* Amid political tension and escalating crises, the International Day of Neutrality is of great importance in upholding the principles of sovereignty and the sovereign equality of States, territorial integrity, self-determination and non-intervention in the internal affairs of any State.

* Further, it defends, promotes and encourages the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security are not endangered, according to the United Nations.

* This day serves as a reminder of how critical neutrality is, particularly for humanitarian reasons. At the time of armed conflicts, it is only via neutrality that NGOs and other humanitarian organisations can properly care for casualties.

* The International Day of Neutrality serves as a reminder to strive for peace. It asks people to strive for a world without conflict and we can achieve this by working together..

Source : News18

Correct Answer :   Meghalaya

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Meghalaya's Lakadong turmeric has been awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, state Agriculture Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh has said.

Along with Lakadong turmeric, Garo Dakmanda (traditional dress), Larnai pottery and Garo Chubitchi (alcoholic beverage) were also awarded the GI tag, she said.

Lyngdoh said the Lakadong turmeric, which is found in Lakadong area of Jaintia Hills, has high curcumin content and the GI tag will help farmers in marketing and give access to customers to the authentic product.

"We are pleased to announce that GI has been awarded to Lakadong turmeric," the minister told PTI.

She thanked the stakeholders who took the initiative to get the GI tag.

Lakadong turmeric is considered to be one of the world's best varieties of turmeric, with a curcumin content of around 6.8 to 7.5 per cent. It is darker in colour and is grown organically without the use of fertilisers.

Around 14,000 farmers from 43 villages of Lakadong area are currently engaged in cultivating the turmeric variety on 1,753 hectares of land.

Lyngdoh said the GI tag will provide the farmers with a unique selling point and they will fetch a good market price.

Lakadong farmer Trinity Saioo, who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 for encouraging more farmers in the state to take up cultivation of the turmeric variety, expressed happiness and gratitude to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma for promoting the spice.

"I am very happy that Lakadong turmeric has received the GI tag. It is a blessing for the people of Jaintia Hills," she said.

It will boost the competitiveness of Lakadong farmers in domestic and international markets and create more livelihood opportunities, she added.

Dakmanda is a handwoven ankle-length lower garment which is part of the traditional attire of Garo women of Meghalaya. Chubitchi is a rice-based fermented drink of the Garo community consumed during feasts and ceremonies.

Larnai pottery is made of of black clay from Larnai village and the art form has been passed down through generations..

Source : Deccan Herald

Correct Answer :   10th Dec 2023

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Gao Yaojie, a renowned Chinese doctor and activist who exposed the AIDS virus epidemic in rural China in the 1990s died Sunday (10th Dec 2023) at the age of 95, BBC reported.

* Dr Gao died of natural causes in New York, where she had been in exile since 2009. Her death was confirmed by Prof. Andrew J. Nathan, a scholar of Chinese politics at Columbia University who managed her affairs in the United States.

* A trained gynecologist, Dr Gao became well-known and beloved across China in the late 1990s for her relentless activism in exposing a man-made AIDS crisis and for her work to remove the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. She discovered that AIDS was spreading through ramshackle blood transfusion centers set up with official government backing.

* She spoke against blood-selling schemes that infected thousands with HIV, mainly in her home province of Henan in central China. Dr. Gao traveled across the country treating patients, often at her own expense. She reportedly visited more than 100 "Aids villages" and met more than 1,000 families offering them food, clothes, and medicine. Her work also received recognition from international organizations and officials.

* ''AIDS not only killed individuals but destroyed countless families. This was a man-made catastrophe. Yet the people responsible for it have never been brought to account, nor have they uttered a single word of apology,'' Dr. Gao said in an interview with The New York Times in 2016.

* However, her outspokenness about the virus outbreak embarrassed the Chinese government and officials repeatedly tried to prevent her from travelling abroad, where she was being celebrated for her work. In 2007, she was briefly put under house arrest to prevent her from traveling to the United States to pick up a prize recognizing her work in women's health.

* She left China in 2009, in the face of surveillance and growing pressure from the local government, and settled in Manhattan, New York. Her husband Guo Mingjiu died in 2006. She is survived by two daughters and a son.

* Her ashes are set to be scattered on the Yellow River in Henan, symbolising her connection to her homeland.

Correct Answer :   58

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The Government has said that 58 Airports in the country have been covered under the Krishi Udan Scheme.

* The Scheme was launched in 2020 on international and national routes to assist farmers in transporting agricultural products to help improve their value realization.

* Minister of State for Civil Aviation Dr V K Singh said this in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha 11th Dec 2023.

* He said, Krishi Udan Scheme 2.0 was also announced in 2021 focusing on transporting perishable food products from the hilly areas, North Eastern States, and tribal areas..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Bhajan Lal Sharma

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Rajasthan CM announcement:  First-time MLA Bhajan Lal Sharma to be the next Rajasthan chief minister. Rajasthan to have two deputy CMs- Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa. 

* Vasudev Devnani to be the Speaker," says BJP central observer for Rajasthan, Rajnath Singh.

* The BJP on Tuesday (12th Dec 2023) picked first-time MLA Bhajanlal Sharma as Rajasthan’s new chief minister, ending days of speculation that followed its victory in the assembly polls.

* The surprise choice was announced after the newly elected BJP MLAs met and elected MLA from Sanganer as the leader of its legislature party.

* At the meeting, the CM-designate’s name was proposed by former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, who was herself considered to be in the running for the top post..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Arunachal Pradesh

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Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday (11th Dec 2023) attended the annual "Shar Amartala Torgya" Festival here at the Thegtse Sangye Choi Long monastery at Balemu, a small hamlet at the trijunction of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Bhutan in West Kameng district.

The religious festival is being held under the patronage and blessings of Padmashree His Eminence The 14th Thegtse Rinpoche.

Addressing a huge gathering of devotees from West Kameng, Tawang and Bhutan, Khandu expressed gratitude to the Almighty for being able to attend the third celebration of the festival at Balemu for the second time.

He appreciated all the MLAs of West Kameng and Tawang districts for responding positively to his appeal for generous contributions to the construction and development of the monastery that he inaugurated earlier in the day.

"Being Monpas it is our duty to contribute in whatever possible way to develop a monastery, especially in a place that has a religious significance for us. I appreciate all Monpa MLAs for their contributions. However, my special thanks go to Union Minister for Earth Science Kiren Rijiju, Buragaon-Thrizino MLA Kumsi Sidisow and Bomdila MLA Dongru Siongju for their generous contribution who though hail from West Kameng district are non-Monpas," he said.

Khandu, who inaugurated the Mindrol Wang Thri Khang Zang Gatsal or the Dharma Teaching Stage of the monastery, on behalf of all Mon people, expressed gratitude to Thegtse Rinpoche for reviving the lost religious glory of Amartala (Balemu) by initiating to open the study centre for the preservation of Buddhist culture.

Amartala (Balemu) is a place of great religious significance.

"We the Mon people have been following Buddhism for centuries. It is our culture. And we must preserve this culture for posterity and maintain our indigenous identity," he said..

Source : ANI

Correct Answer :   New Delhi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today (12th Dec 2023) said that India is committed to responsible and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the  'Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Summit' at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on 12th Dec 2023, Mr Modi stressed that Artificial Intelligence is for social development and inclusive growth.

The Prime Minister said that the government has drafted its policies and programs with the spirit of AI for All. He said that the government strives to take maximum advantage of AI’s capabilities for social development and inclusive growth, while also committing to its responsible and ethical usage. The Prime Minister informed that the government has started a National Program on Artificial Intelligence, and it will soon launch AI Mission which aims to establish the computing powers of AI. Prime Minister said, the mission will provide better services to startups and innovators in India and also promote AI applications in the sectors of agriculture, healthcare and education. He also mentioned taking AI-related skills to Tier 2 and 3 cities through educational training institutes.
 
Speaking about India’s national AI portal that promotes AI initiatives, the Prime Minister mentioned the AIRAWAT initiative and informed that the common platform will soon be open for every research lab, industry and startup. Stressing the importance of Artificial Intelligence, the Prime Minister said that AI is becoming the biggest basis for sculpting the new future and it not only ensures economic development but also ensures equality and social justice. Emphasizing to make AI more inclusive, Mr Modi said that “the more inclusive, the development journey of AI, the more inclusive will be the results".
 
Prime Minister mentioned that the unequal access to technology in the last century is accentuating inequality in the society and to avoid this, he asked that democratic values should not be neglected in technology to make it an inclusion multiplier. He said, the direction of AI development will depend on human and democratic values and it is up to us to keep a place for emotions along with efficiency, ethics along effectiveness.
 

The Prime Minister emphasized that, to make any system sustainable, it is important to make it transformative, transparent, and trusted and there is no doubt that AI is transformative but it is up to us to make it more and more transparent. He added that keeping data as transparent and free from bias will be a good beginning. He said that it is imperative to assure all the countries that no one will be left behind in the development journey of AI. He underlined that trust in AI will grow only when related ethical, economic and social aspects are addressed.
 
Underlining the negative aspects of AI,  Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that even though it has the potential to become the strongest tool for development in the 21st century, it can also play a pivotal role in its destruction. Pointing out the challenges of deepfake, cyber security, data theft and terrorist organizations getting their hands on AI tools, Prime Minister Modi stressed on the need for countermeasures towards this. He threw light on India’s proposal to create a framework for 'Responsible Human-Centric AI governance' during India’s G20 Presidency and said that the G20 New Delhi Declaration has reaffirmed the commitment of all member countries towards ‘AI Principles’. He emphasized working together and creating a framework for the ethical use of AI, including the testing and development of high-risk or frontier AI tools. Stressing the need for conviction, commitment, coordination, and collaboration, the Prime Minister called upon the entire world to not waste even a moment in this direction.
 
Noting AI as a worldwide movement, the Prime Minister stressed the need for collaboration. He suggested a few questions that need to be addressed to enhance AI’s credibility such as data sets for testing and training AI tools, length and duration of testing before releasing any product to the market. The Prime Minister also asked whether a Software Watermark can be introduced to mark any information or product as AI-generated.
 
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashvini Vaishnav, Union Minister of State for Electronics and  Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrashekhar and Minister of Outgoing Chair of GPAI and Vice-Minister for Policy Coordination, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan Hiroshi Yoshida were also present on the occasion..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Mali

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The United Nations mission in Mali has officially ended a 10-year deployment in the country, its spokesperson said, in a pullout ordered by Mali’s military government.

* The mission, known as the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), lowered the UN flag in its headquarters in the capital Bamako, its spokesperson Fatoumata Kaba told the AFP news agency on Monday (11th Dec 2023).

* The symbolic ceremony marks the official end of the mission, she said, even though some of the elements of it are still there.

* A “liquidation phase” will take place after January 1, involving activities such as handing over any remaining equipment to the authorities.


A decade of MINUSMA :

* In June, Mali’s military government, which seized power in 2020, demanded the departure of the mission, deployed since 2013, despite being in the grip of attacks by armed groups in the Sahel region.

* The withdrawal of MINUSMA troops has ignited fears that fighting will intensify between Malian forces and armed groups for territorial control.

* The mission had maintained about 15,000 soldiers and police in Mali for the past decade. About 180 members have been killed in hostile acts.

* As of Friday, more than 10,500 uniformed and civilian MINUSMA personnel had left Mali, out of a total of about 13,800 staff at the start of the withdrawal, the UN mission said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

* Since being told to leave, MINUSMA has left 13 positions in Mali and has yet to close sites in Gao and Timbuktu in the north.

* Last week, the UN mission handed over the Mopti camp in central Mali, one of the hotbeds of violence that has plagued Sahel for years.

* The Mopti camp most recently housed peacekeepers from Bangladesh and Togo, and in the past, hosted Egyptian, Pakistani, and Senegalese contingents.

* The pullout went smoothly, unlike recent withdrawals in Mali’s volatile north which took place under fears of a military escalation between the army and rebel groups, Kaba told AFP.


An unceremonious exit :

* The UN troops were initially welcomed by Malians who hoped that the foreign soldiers would be able to help the Malian military drive back the rebels who had captured large swaths of land in the north.

* Ten years on, however, the peacekeepers are leaving unceremoniously with the instability far from resolved. Thousands of people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the violence.

* After seizing power in August 2020 citing mounting insecurity, Mali’s government ditched the alliance with former colonial power France, preferring rapprochement with Moscow and the private army Wagner Group. Another military takeover happened in May 2021..

Source : Aljazeera

Correct Answer :   Myanmar

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United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2023 12th Dec 2023. The report states that Myanmar is the world's biggest opium producer.

It added, from 2022 to 2023, Myanmar saw an 18 per cent increase to one lakh 16 thousand acres in the amount of land used to grow the illicit crop and a 16 per cent rise in production. The growth can be attributed to multiple factors such as improved plot density, the use of irrigation and fertilisers.

Earlier Afghanistan held the infamous title but since the ascent of Taliban to power in 2021, cultivation of opium poppies has seen a decrease of 95 per cent. The report notes that opium farming in Southeast Asia is closely linked to poverty, lack of government services, challenging macroeconomic environments, instability and insecurity..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Donald Tusk

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Members of the Polish Parliament backed Donald Tusk to become Poland's Prime Minister after current leader Mateusz Morawiecki lost a confidence vote in the country's Parliament yesterday (11th Dec 2023). According to media reports, the vote was 248 in favour and 201 against.

* Tusk came to power after the coalition's victory in the elections held two months ago. 248 parliamentary votes were cast in support of Tusk in the 460-seat lower house of parliament. Poland is a Central European country, its capital is Warsaw.

* Tusk returns nearly two months after a coalition of opposition parties led by him secured victory in the national election held in October this year.

* Tusk is set to present his Cabinet to parliament and lay out his governing program today (12th Dec 2023).

* Following this, members of the Polish Parliament will hold a vote of confidence. The incoming administration will be sworn in at the presidential palace by President Andrzei Duda on Wednesday (13th Dec 2023)..

Source : AIR