Panchayat Sammelan

Context:

The Ministry of Panchayati Raj organized the first regional workshop under the Panchayat Sammelan series.

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• This Panchayat Sammelan is being held on the theme of “Ease of Living: Enhancing Service Delivery at the Grassroots” at the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), Hyderabad. 
• Panchayat Sammelan is being live-streamed in eleven languages through the Bhashini platform, including Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu.
• The primary objective of the program is to focus on deliberating on innovative approaches and sharing experiences for enhancing service delivery at the grassroots level. 
• The government is dedicated to transforming every panchayat into a center for efficient, transparent, and responsive services. The Sammelan marks an important milestone in this ongoing effort.

Mera Hou Chongba

Context: 

Manipur celebrated the Mera Hou Chongba 2024 on 17 october as a symbol of unity among tribes.

Mera Hou Chongba festival

• It is a traditional festival celebrated in order to strengthen the cordial bond between the indigenous communities living in the hills and valley people.
• This festival is held annually in the month of Mera (September/October).
• The festival was observed at Manipur Royal Palace and the sacred holy site- Kangla.
• Participating communities: the Mao, Kabui, Zeme, and others.
• The main function of the festival is the exchange of gifts between the King and village Chiefs and the performance of cultural shows and sports.
• The festival ends with a grand feast; food consists of curry of dried fish, cows, buffaloes, dogs, etc.
• The festival traces its origins back to the era of Nongda Lairen Pakhangba (the first Meitei monarch of the Ningthouja dynasty) in the first century C.E.

ITU Kaleidoscope 2024

Context:

Recently, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Kaleidoscope 2024 academic conference commenced at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India.

ITU Kaleidoscope

• This conference runs parallel to the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly 2024 (WTSA-24).
• ITU Kaleidoscope is an annual event inaugurated in 2008 that has been instrumental in bridging the gap between academia and industry, promoting the exchange of ideas that contribute to the global standardization of telecommunications technologies.

• The theme of the fifteenth edition of the ITU Kaleidoscope is Innovation and digital transformation for a sustainable world.
• The ITU-WTSA 24 saw the largest submissions ever in Kaleidoscope at 142 of which 100 have come from India and 40 from the rest of the world.

World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA)

• WTSA is the governing conference for the standardization work of the International Telecommunication Union.
• The WTSA is held every four years and defines the next period of study for ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). 
• WTSA-24 is taking place from 15 to 24 October 2024 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, India.
• It is for the first time that the ITU-WTSA is being hosted in India and the Asia-Pacific.

African Baobab Tree

Context:

In a new research South African ecologists claim that the African Baobab is not dying due to climate change.

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• A 2018 study published in Nature Plants suggested that 10 of 15 of the oldest and largest ancient African baobabs (Adansonia digitata) monitored in South Africa had died or collapsed on account of climate change.

African baobabs (Adansonia digitata) tree

• It is Native to the continent, providing food and shelter to animals and humans thus it is also known as the ‘Tree of Life.’
• The Baobab is also known as the “bottle tree”, “the tree of life”, “upside-down tree”, and “monkey bread tree.”
• They are known to exist for over 1,000 years, thus becoming one of the largest living beings on the planet.
•  Baobab is the common name of a genus of trees (Adansonia) distributed in Madagascar, Africa, Australia, and India.
• The trees can reach up to heights of 16 to 98 feet and trunk diameters of 23 to 36 feet. Its trunk can hold up to 120,000 liters of water.
• The Baobab is the national tree of Madagascar. 

Why tree of Life?

The tree trunk is very rich in fibers and used for making cloths, carpets, ropes and other knit wares. 

The leaves are used as condiments and medicines. 

The fruit, called "monkey bread", is edible, and full of vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, calcium and antioxidants.

• The super fruit of the tree serves as income for thousands of farmers. It has the potential to be an economically scalable fruit (product) with a potential market worth of $10 million.

Exercise Naseem Al Bahr

Context:

Recently, India hosted the Indo-Oman bilateral naval exercise Naseem-Al-Bahr. 

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INS Trikand and Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft participated with the Royal Navy of Oman Vessel ‘Al Seeb’. 

The exercise was conducted in two phases:

• Harbour phase: This phase was held from 13 to 15 October 2024, the personnel from both Navies engaged in professional interactions, including Subject Matter Expert Exchanges and planning conferences. 
• Sea phase: This phase was conducted from 16 to 18 October 24, both ships carried out various evolutions, including gun firings at surface inflatable targets, close-range anti-aircraft firings, maneuvers, and Replenishment at Sea Approaches (RASAPS).

The first such exercise b/w India and Oman navies was conducted in 1993.

Oman is the first Gulf country with which all three wings of India's defense forces hold joint exercises.

• Military Exercise – Al Najah
• Air Force Exercise - Eastern Bridge.