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Assam & NE Current Affairs & GK – November 13-15, 2022

( Covers all important Current Affairs & GK topics for the November 13-15, 2022)

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• Current Affairs GK & Quiz Monthly – November 2022
• Current Affairs GK & Quiz Monthly – October 2022
• Current Affairs GK & Quiz Monthly – September 2022

November 13-15, 2022

Assam govt signs MoU with IIM Bangalore for training young professionals 

The government of Assam has signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore) for a training programme for young professionals. 

and facilitators to support government administration. 

The Chief Minister’s Young Professional Programme (CMYPP) aims at bringing transformative changes in health, education, women, and child development in the state.

Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Samir Kumar Sinha singed the MoU on behalf of the Government of Assam and Director IIM Bangalore Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan signed the understanding on behalf of IIM Bangalore to develop a cadre of committed and competent leaders. 

Indo-US joint training exercise ‘YUDH ABHYAS 22’

The 18th edition of Indo – US joint training exercise “YUDH ABHYAS 22” is scheduled to be conducted in Uttarakhand this month. The previous edition of the exercise was conducted at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska (USA) in October 2021.

Exercise Yudh Abhyas is conducted annually between India and USA with the aim of exchanging best practices, Tactics, Techniques and Procedures between the Armies of the two nations. 

Key Points

• US Army soldiers of 2nd Brigade of the 11th Airborne Division and Indian Army soldiers from the ASSAM Regiment will be participating in the exercise.
• The joint exercise will also focus on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. 
• The training schedule focuses on employment of an integrated battle group under Chapter VII of the UN Mandate and the schedule will include all operations related to peace keeping & peace enforcement. 
• Troops from both nations will practice launching of swift & coordinated relief efforts in the wake of any natural calamity. 
• The scope of the Field Training Exercise includes validation of integrated battle groups, force multipliers, establishment and functioning of surveillance grids, validation of operational logistics, mountain warfare skills, casualty evacuation  and combat medical aid in adverse terrain and climatic conditions.
• The exercise will involve exchanges and practices on a wide spectrum of combat skills including combat engineering, employment of UAS/Counter UAS techniques and information operations.
• The exercise will facilitate both Armies to share their wide experiences, skills and enhance their techniques through information exchange.

Supreme Court agree to hear plea against first amendment of constitution

The  Supreme Court of India agreed to examine a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) challenging changes made to the right to freedom of speech and expression by the first amendment act 1951.

About First Amendment to the Constitution 

• First Amendment to the Constitution amended Articles 15, 19, 85, 87, 174, 176, 341, 342, 372 and 376. 
• Provided for the saving of laws providing for the acquisition of estates, etc.
• Added the ninth schedule to protect anti-zamindari laws from judicial review. After Article 31, Articles 31A and 31B were inserted.
• Added three more grounds for restrictions on freedom of speech and expression: public order, friendly relations with foreign states, and incitement to an offense. Also, it made the restrictions ‘reasonable’ and thus, justiciable in nature.
• Provided that state trading and nationalization of any trade or business by the state is not to be invalid on the ground of violation of the right to trade or business.

Arguments against this Amendment

The petitioner, Section 3(1) of the amending Act substituted original Clause (2) of Article 19 with a new Clause (2), which contained two objectionable insertions. 

1. Original Clause (2) of Article 19 was dealing with reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a). 
2. New Clause (2), contained “two objectionable insertions” allowing restrictions also “in the interest of public order” and “in relation to incitement to an offence”.

The amendment neglects national security by dropping the expression ‘tends to overthrow the State’ which raises grave concern in the context of the dangers posed to the concept of the secular democratic republic by radicalism, terrorism and religious fundamentalism. 

These two Insertions Protect Sections:

• 124A: Sedition 
• Section 153A: Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony. 
• 295A: Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) 
• 505: Statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code from the vice of unconstitutionality.

The plea urged the court to declare Section 3 (1)(a) and 3 (2) of the First Amendment “beyond the amending power of Parliament” and void since the “same damage the basic or essential features of the Constitution and destroy its basic structure”.

G-20 Summit 2022

The 17th G20 Summit began in Bali, Indonesia with the theme of ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’. Leaders from the world’s major economies attended the summit.

Key Points

• The two-day Bali Summit comprises three working sessions at the leaders’ level, in which PM Modi will be participating.
• The summit focuses on global economic recovery, global health architecture, digital transformation, sustainable energy transition and climate change etc.
• The world is currently struggling with many important challenges including environmental challenges, lack of progress in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), uneven post-pandemic economic recovery, debt vulnerabilities especially in the countries of the global south, ongoing conflict in Europe etc.
• G20 leaders will discuss these challenges and underscore the importance of closer multilateral cooperation to help overcome these challenges.
• They promised to take coordinated action to address food security challenges and recognised the importance of digital transformation in reaching the sustainable development goals.
• They encouraged international collaboration to further develop digital skills and digital literacy.
• They expressed their continuous commitment to promoting a healthy and sustainable recovery which builds towards achieving and sustaining universal health coverage.
• The 2022 summit is especially important for India since it will be taking over the G20 presidency from Indonesia from December 1, 2022. 

19th ASEAN-India Summit

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar led the Indian delegation, including the External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar, at the 19th ASEAN-India Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 

The Vice President of India stated that India-ASEAN relationship forms the central pillar of India’s ACT-EAST policy. He reiterated India’s support to ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific. 

He said that India and Cambodia share rich traditions and culture while having centuries-old civilization connect. He further added that today Cambodia is an important interlocutor and partner in our ‘Act East’ policy and the ASEAN. 

Key Points

• At the summit, ASEAN and India adopted a joint statement announcing the elevation of the existing Strategic Partnership to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. 
• Both sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, stability, maritime safety and security, freedom of navigation and overflight in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The Joint Statement also reiterated the commitment to enhance India-ASEAN cooperation in various areas such as maritime activities, counter-terrorism, transnational crimes, cyber security, digital economy, regional connectivity, smart agriculture, environment, science & technology, tourism, among other areas. 
• The Joint Statement also proposes expediting the review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) to make it more user-friendly, simple, and trade-facilitative.

About Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand.
• It is a regional grouping to promote economic growth, peace, security, social progress and cultural development.
• Its member states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• India is hosting the two-day conclave to mark the 30th anniversary of its relations with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
• The year 2022 has been designated as the ‘ASEAN-India Friendship Year’. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of India’s strategic cooperation with ASEAN.

India and ASEAN

• ASEAN and India share land and maritime borders, and there is a lot of scope for enhancing connectivity through land, air and sea. 
• India and several other countries, including the US, China, Japan and Australia, are its dialogue partners.
• India provides financial assistance to the ASEAN nations through various mechanisms like ASEAN-India Cooperation Fund, ASEAN-India S&T Development Fund and ASEAN-India Green Fund. 
• India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway is an ongoing effort to enhance road connectivity between Northeast India and Southeast Asia.

Renowned Mathematician Rangasami Lakshminarayan Kashyap passed away

Renowned mathematician and great scholar Padma Shri Awardee Shri RL Kashyap passed away. RL Kashyap translated around twenty-five thousand Sanskrit mantras into English language. He wrote more than 250 research papers. 

Kashyap has made many important contributions to the field of Veda.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2021 by the central government for his considerable service in the field of studying the Vedas.

Kashyap received many international awards for his immense contributions to the fields of science and technology.  

Kashyap worked as a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computers for three decades at Purdue University in America. 

• Current Affairs GK & Quiz Monthly – November 2022
• Current Affairs GK & Quiz Monthly – October 2022
• Current Affairs GK & Quiz Monthly – September 2022