GS PAPER I
National education day
Why in News
- National Education Day is celebrated every year on 11 November.
Key point
- This day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of India.
- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was the first education minister of independent India. At that time the Ministry of Education was the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin popularly known as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Actually this day is dedicated to honor the legacy of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
- Maulana Azad was born on November 11, 1888. He is known as the principal architect of education in independent India. This day is celebrated to remember the exemplary contribution of Maulana Azad in the field of nation building, institution building and education.
History of this day
- The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) declared this day as a national festival on September 11, 2008.
- The first National Education Day was inaugurated on November 11, 2008 by the then President of India Pratibha Patil at Vigyan Bhawan.
- Maulana Azad believed that the society would be stable only by the empowerment of women. She raised the issue of women’s education in the Constituent Assembly in 1949.
- He also laid the foundation of Rural Higher Education Board, National Organization for Basic Education and others. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad died on 22 February 1958 at the age of 69.
- Azad was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in the year 1992. He breathed his last in 1958.
GS PAPER II
‘Rezang La War Memorial’
Why in News
- Defense Minister will inaugurate the newly constructed Rezang La War Memorial on 18 November.
Key point
- The Indian Army has renovated the war memorial. 18 November marks the 59th anniversary of the Battle of Rejang La. On this day 13 Kumaon soldiers led by Major Shaitan Singh defeated the Chinese army during the 1962 war.
- During this, Defense Minister Rajnath will also inaugurate a newly renovated war memorial to honor the 114 Indian soldiers who were martyred in the 1962 Battle of Rezang La. Indian Army officials said that the anniversary of the famous mythological battle is celebrated on November 18.
Permission to enter border areas
- The Rezang La War Memorial in the Eastern Ladakh sector was a small one and has now been expanded. It will now be much bigger than before and will be on the tourism map of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
- Now the general public including tourists will be allowed to visit the monument and border areas which will further popularize the mythological battle.
- Defense Minister will inaugurate the war memorial along with Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat on 18 November.
History of Rezang La
- The history of Rezang La is full of bravery and courage. This place became such a witness to the bravery of Indian soldiers that it was recorded in the pages of history.
- On 18 November 1962, 120 soldiers from 13 Kumaon of the Indian Army killed 1,300 Chinese soldiers under the leadership of Major Shaitan Singh.
- Later, 114 Indian soldiers were also martyred and the remaining 6 soldiers were taken captive by China. However, all the 6 jawans later returned after escaping.
Rezang la
- Rezang La is a mountain pass entering that valley to the southeast of the Chushul Valley in the Ladakh region of India.
- It is 2.7 km long and 1.8 km wide and has an average elevation of 16,000 feet.
- It is 11 miles south of the Spanggur Gap, which China claimed as its ‘traditional border’ during its 1960 border talks.
- It has an elevation of 5,500 m, and forms the source of the Rejang Lungpa stream which drains into Lake Spangur.
GS PAPER II
US and China climate cooperation agreement
Why in News
- China and the US have issued a joint statement that gives a new impetus to the global climate talks in the last days. The agreement also marked a rare moment of cooperation between each other’s opposing superpowers involved in geopolitical rivalry and which seemed somewhat odd during most of the talks held for a period of two weeks in Glasgow, Scotland. .
Joint statement
- China’s special climate envoy Xie Zhenhua told reporters that the two sides have agreed to boost their efforts to cut carbon emissions, including combating methane and illegal deforestation.
- They will also set up a working group to enhance action in the 2020s – a critical decade – which will meet in the first half of next year.
- His US counterpart John Kerry said the group would focus on “concrete” measures.
- Xie further said that, as the world’s two major economies, “we need to work proactively to address climate change.” Kerry said that ‘the US and China have no shortage of differences, but in terms of climate, mutual cooperation is the only way to accomplish this task.’ Both these diplomats spoke one after the other in separate press conferences. China’s Xie addressed the first press conference.
- The joint announcement has changed the mood in Glasgow, where negotiators are in the midst of intense discussions on how to accelerate measures to contain global warming.
- It was a bilateral agreement between the US and China and paved the way for the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement.
China refuses to join global pledge
- China has refused to join a global pledge being organized by the US and the European Union to cut methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by the end of the decade.
- Xie further said that China will develop its own national plan. Kerry acknowledged that they had failed to force China to push its deadline to reach peak emissions before 2030.
GS PAPER III
‘Digital Payment Gateway’
Why in News
- National Internet Exchange of India has recently launched ‘Digital Payment Gateway’.
Key point
- National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a not-for-profit company under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
- National Internet Exchange of India has partnered with PayU and NSDL to launch payment gateway services.
- Its aim is to make the Internet accessible to all. For the convenience of its customers and partners, National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) now goes digital by integrating payment gateways across all its customer-used websites with the objective of ease of use and enabling digital payments across its three business units Is.
Benefit
- Through this integration, the customers of National Internet Exchange of India will get ease of use by ensuring real-time payment, seamless services experience to all stakeholders.
- NIXI has been contributing to the Digital India mission by helping make the Internet infrastructure self-reliant, strong and secure.
- This initiative of our own payment gateway will ensure greater digital freedom and transparency in NIXI’s own ecosystem.
- About payment gateway partners
- PayU: PayU is a leading payment gateway company in India. It provides payment gateway facility to online businesses. It is providing its services to over 4.5 lakh merchants with over 100 payment methods.
- NSDL: NSDL is one of the largest depositories in the world. It has set up a state-of-the-art infrastructure, which handles the majority of securities held and settled in dematerialized form in the Indian capital market. In addition, it also provides secure and seamless payment gateway services to businesses.