Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 23 December 2023 | Download PDF

• French President Emmanuel Macron will be the chief guest at the 2024 Republic Day celebrations
• As Strategic Partners, India and France share a high degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues. 
• This year marks the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership

• The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) convened a meeting with the Chief Ministers of the States in the region
• The meeting comes in the wake of a review by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) that found that the scheme was yet to take off despite adequate funds.

About Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) Scheme

• It is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% central funding.
• It will be implemented by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
• It will have an outlay of Rs.6,600 crore for the four year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
• The infrastructure projects will be funded in line with the priorities laid down under the PM Gati Shakti program. 
• The objectives of PM-DevINE are to:
• Fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti;
• Support social development projects based on felt needs of the NER;
• Enable livelihood activities for youth and women;
• Fill the development gaps in various sectors.

• The Women and Child Development Ministry aims to establish 17,000 creches in anganwadis across the country. 
• The Ministry plans to depute two additional creche workers in each anganwadi.

Key points

• These initiatives are being taken under the ‘Palna’ scheme to address the need for quality daycare facilities or creches for children of working women by providing a safe and secure environment for the nutritional, health and cognitive development of the children, thereby enabling more women among all socio-economic groups to take up gainful employment in the organised and unorganised sector.
• According to government data, participation of women in the workforce has increased to 37% in 2022. 
• As of March 31, 2021, 13.87 lakh anganwadi and mini-anganwadi centres are operational across the country.

• China, the world’s top processor of rare earths, banned the export of technology to extract and separate the strategic metals, as it overhauled a list of technologies deemed key to national security.
• It also banned the export of production technology for rare earth metals and alloy materials as well as technology to prepare some rare earth magnets. 
• The move comes as Europe and the U.S. scramble to wean themselves off rare earths from China, which accounts for 90% of global refined output.
• Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used to make magnets for use in EVs and other electronics.

• The Central government is exploring setting up a health sector regulator that will bring private and government health insurance schemes under its purview to facilitate affordable insurance coverage for all
• The Ministries of Finance (MoF) and Health are in “initial discussions” over the need for a sector watchdog.
• Doctors’ bodies have urged that private and government insurance be brought under a single regulator. Meaning, regulating government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, the Central Government Health Scheme, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, etc.

• U.S. gymnast Simone Biles has been voted Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year’ for a third time. 
• Her triumphant return that included her record eighth U.S. national championship and a sixth world all-around gold made Biles the fourth woman in last 50 years to claim the honour for a third time after tennis stars Serena Williams (five times), Chris Evert (four) and golfer Annika Sorenstam (three).

• Melanistic or black tigers have been sighted only in Odisha’s Similipal
• As per the 2022 cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation, a total of 16 tigers were recorded in Similipal, out of which 10 were melanistic

About Simlipal Tiger Reserve (STR)

•  Location: STR is located within the Mayurbhanj District, in the Northernmost part of Odisha.
• It is surrounded by high plateaus and hills, the highest peak being the twin peaks of Khairiburu and Meghashini (1515m above mean sea level).
• It was declared a ‘Tiger Reserve’ in the year 1956 and included under the national conservation programme ‘Project Tiger’ in 1973.
• The STR, along with a ‘transitional area’ of 2250 sq. km, was included as a part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO in the year 2009.

• Chief Minister presided over the ground-breaking ceremony for Aditya Alumina Refinery (HINDALCO) and apparel unit to be setup by Utkal Alumina Social Welfare Foundation.
• While the alumina refinery is coming up at Kansariguda, the apparel complex will be set up in Phulujuba village, both in Rayagada district.

Key points

•  an investment of Rs 8,000 crore, will significantly contribute to Odisha’s economy by adding a substantial 2 million tonnes per annum of refined alumina from bauxite ore. 
• The project will generate employment opportunities for at least 4,000 people.

• The Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar city in Odisha added a pair of wallabies and a pair of livingstone turacos in its cap.
• One pair of wallabies and one pair of livingstone turacos have been brought to the Nandankanan as part of the animal acquisition schedule.

Key points

• • Livingstone turaco is a species of bird in the family Musophagidae, which was named for Charles Livingstone, the brother of David Livingstone. 
  • The bright green turaco with a white-tipped crest is found in the humid first areas of Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
• a wallaby is a small to medium-sized mammal belonging to the kangaroo family, Macropodidae. 

• The species is found chiefly in Australia. They resemble kangaroos but differ somewhat in dentition.

• Nandankanan Zoological Park is a significant and unique zoological park and botanical garden located in Odisha, India.
• It focuses on the well-being and conservation of the animals in its care.
• Nandankanan comprises several components, including a Zoological Park, a State Botanical Garden, and a National wetland known as Kanjia Lake. 
• This diversity of attractions makes it a comprehensive destination for nature and wildlife enthusiasts.
• The park has been successful in breeding various endangered species, including gharials, Indian pangolins, and white tigers.
•  It is known for hosting the largest collection of white tigers in the world.

Odisha Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for transformation and beautification of Joranda Mahima Pitha in Dhenkanal district.

Key points

• The sect was established by Mahima Gosain in the early 19th century
• The state government has sanctioned Rs 112 crore for the development of ‘Mahima Peeth’
• Apart from a meditation centre and a ‘Bati Mandap’ (lamp house), beautification activities will also be carried out
• The followers of the ‘Mahima’ sect are mostly spread across Odisha and in some parts of Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.
• There are around 5 lakh ‘Mahima’ sect followers in the Dhenkanal Lok Sabha constituency

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