UPSC EXAM QUIZ 25.11.2024

Explanation:

• Renowned pianist Daniel Barenboim and peace activist Ali Abu Awad were awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize-2023. This award was given to them for their contribution in the field of peace, disarmament and development.

Daniel Barenboim’s Contributions

• Barenboim has used music as a tool for cultural dialogue. His performances aim to promote understanding and harmony among diverse communities. He believes in the power of music to transcend political barriers. His work has inspired many to seek peaceful resolutions.

Ali Abu Awwad’s Advocacy

• Awwad founded the organization Roots after his imprisonment in Israel. He advocates for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. His personal experiences shape his message of forgiveness and understanding.

Explanation:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Guyana after 56 years, which is a historic moment in the bilateral relations between India and Guyana. He met Guyana's President Mohamed Irfan Ali in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana.

10 important agreements signed

• After talks between Prime Minister Modi and President Ali, the two countries signed 10 agreements. These agreements are aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Key areas

• Hydrocarbons: India and Guyana will prepare a blueprint for cooperation in energy security.
• Digital payment system: India's UPI (Unified Payments Interface) will be implemented in Guyana.
• Pharma and health: Jan Aushadhi Kendra will be established in Guyana.
• Agriculture: India will help Guyana to increase the cultivation of crops like rice, sugarcane, maize, soybean.

Explanation:

• Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh formally launched Naphithromycin, India's first indigenous antibiotic for drug-resistant infections.

Key Points

• Launch: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched India's first indigenous antibiotic 'Naphithromycin'.
• Development: It was developed with the support of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).
• Trade name: It was marketed by pharma company Wockhardt as 'Miqnaf'.
• Purpose: It has been developed to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
• Solution to the problem: Naphithromycin will prove to be revolutionary in the treatment of drug-resistant pneumonia, which causes more than 2 million deaths every year.
• Efficacy: It is 10 times more effective than Azithromycin and gives similar results in just three days of treatment.

Explanation:

• Indian Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Upendra Dwivedi, was conferred with the honourary rank of the General of the Nepali Army on 21 November 2024. India and Nepal have a long tradition of honouring each other's country's chief of the army with this rank.
• General Upendra Dwivedi is on an official visit to Nepal from 20 to 24 November 2024 at the invitation of his Nepali counterpart, General Ashok Raj Sigdel.
• Nepali President Conferred the honorary rank to General Dwivedi.
• General Upendra Dwivedi was conferred the rank of honourary General of the Nepali Army by the President of Nepal, Ramchandra Paudel, at a special ceremony at the President's House in Kathmandu on 21 November 2024.
• The Nepali President is the commander in chief of the Nepali Armed Forces.

Highlights of the General Upendra Dwivedi Visit

• It was General Upendra Dwivedi's first official visit to Nepal after being appointed the 30th Chief of the Indian Army.
• His five-member delegation includes his wife, Sunita Dwivedi. The Army Chief's wife has always been the Chairperson of the Army Wives Welfare Association of the Indian Army.
• He held talks with Nepal’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashok Raj Sigdel, at the Nepali Army headquarters in Kathmandu.
• General Upendra Dwivedi gifted military horses and dogs to General Ashok Raj Sigdel.
• He also planted a Rudraksha sapling on the premises of the Nepali Army headquarters.

India Nepal Military Ties

• The East India Company recruited Nepal’s Gurkha into its army and used them in its various campaigns.
• Even after the power transfer from the East India Company to the British Crown in 1858, the tradition of recruiting the Gurkhas continued under British India rule.
• This tradition was continued after India's independence in 1947. A tripartite agreement was signed between India, the British government, and the Nepali government in 1947.
• The agreement split the Gurkha regiment serving in British India into the Indian Army and the British Army.
• The recruitment of Nepali citizens in the Indian Army continued after independence.
• After the introduction of the Agniveer scheme in the Indian Army, Nepal stopped the recruitment of Nepali citizens in the Indian Army.
• There are around 88,000 retired Indian Army personnel living in Nepal.

Explanation:

• Armenia joined the International Solar Alliance as the 104th full member.
• Armenia's full membership in the International Solar Alliance is effective from November 15, 2024 and the agreement was signed in Yerevan on November 16, 2023.
• ISA aims to scale up solar energy and reduce the cost of solar power generation through aggregation of demand for solar finance, technologies, innovation, research and development and capacity building.
• The ISA, a treaty-based international intergovernmental organization, aims to mobilize the over US$1000 billion in investment needed by 2030 for the widespread use of solar energy.
• International Solar Alliance (ISA) was co-founded by India and France.
• India and France jointly launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on 30 November 2015 at COP21 in Paris, France.
• ISA is an intergovernmental organization whose headquarters is located in Gurugram, Haryana.
• ISA serves as an important platform for international cooperation, uniting nations in efforts to combat climate change and transition to clean energy sources globally.