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Current Affairs Daily Digest – 22 June 2023

Last updated: Thu Jun 22 2023

India, UNWTO ink pact to Enhance Cooperation in TourismAs per the Union Ministry of Tourism, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of India and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to enhance cooperation and identify areas of mutual interest.

It was signed during the 4th and final G20 (Group of Twenty) Tourism Working Group Meeting and G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting being held from June 19-22, 2023.

Signatories:
It was signed by Ms. V Vidyavathi, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, India; and Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General, UNWTO.
What is in the MoU?
This MoU envisages the collaboration of both parties on key programmatic areas related to tourism market intelligence, tourism, and rural development, tourism investment, education, and innovation.
Highlights:
i.The 4th Tourism Working Group of G20 has two side events viz. ‘Making Cruise Tourism a Model for Sustainable and Responsible Travel’ and the 2nd was ‘Towards a circular economy of Plastics in Tourism -The global Tourism Plastic initiative’.
ii.During the second side event an MoU was also signed between the Central Nodal Agency, Sustainable Tourism, Responsible Tourism Society of India (RTSOI) and Punjab Tourism Board to collectively unite and address plastic pollution in the tourism sector.
iii.The two key deliverables of the Tourism Working Group were Goa Roadmap for tourism as a vehicle for achieving sustainable development goals and G20 Tourism Ministers’ Declaration.
Key Points:
i.Side events on crucial initiatives of Cruise Tourism, Global Tourism Plastic Initiative and Public Private Sector are also being organized by Ministry of Tourism, India on the side lines of the main Tourism Working Group meeting.
ii.During these events, 15 bilateral meetings are being held between India and various G20 member countries and international organisations.
iii.Under India’s G20 Tourism Track, the Tourism Working Group is working on five inter-connected priority areas, which are Green Tourism, Digitalization, Skills, Tourism MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises), and Destination Management for accelerating the transition of the tourism sector and achieving the targets for 2030 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).
Participants:
Union Minister Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, Ministry of Tourism; Minister of State (MoS) Shripad Yesso Naik, Ministry of Tourism; G20 member countries, central government Ministries, various State Governments and International Organizations.
About United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO):
Secretary-General– Zurab Pololikashvili
Headquarters– Madrid, Spain

Highlights of Defence Minister of Vietnam General Phan Van Giang visit to India On June 18-19, 2023, Minister of National Defence of Vietnam, General Phan Van Giang was on a two-day official visit to New Delhi (Delhi) India, along with a cultural visit to Agra, Uttar Pradesh (UP).

He inspected the Tri-Service Guard of Honour, and laid a wreath and paid homage to the soldiers at the National War Memorial.

Bilateral meeting with India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
A bilateral meeting was held between the Union Minister Rajanath Singh, India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD), and General Phan Van Giang to enhance India-Vietnam cooperation in defence industries, maritime security and multinational cooperation. Both sides will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest including the situation in the South China Sea.

Chief of Defence Staff General (CDS) Anil Chauhan and other top officials from the Ministry of Defence also attended the meeting.

India gifts indigenously-built missile corvette ‘INS Kirpan‘ to Vietnam
During the meeting, the Indian side gifted an indigenously-built in-service missile corvette INS (Indian Naval Ship) Kirpan to Vietnam to enhance the capabilities of the Vietnam People’s Navy. India will train Vietnamese personnel in submarine and fighter jet operations, cyber-security and electronic warfare, among other fields.
About INS Kirpan:
The Navy commissioned INS Kirpan, a 1,350-tonne Khukri class missile corvette, on January 12, 1991. It has a length of 91 meters, a beam of 11 meters, and can reach speeds exceeding 25 knots. Equipped with a medium range gun, 30 mm close range guns, chaff launchers, and surface to surface missiles, the ship is versatile and capable of various roles such as coastal and offshore patrol, coastal security, surface warfare, anti-piracy, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.
Key Points:
i.The Minister of National Defence of Vietnam also called on the President of India, Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and visited Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) headquarters in New Delhi to enhance defence industrial capabilities through cooperation in defence research and joint production.
ii.India and Vietnam share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
iii.Note: During India’s MoD Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Vietnam in June 2022, the two nations signed a ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’ and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on ‘Mutual Logistics Support’.

GoI withdraws draft Live-stock and Live-stock Products [Importation and Exportation] Bill, 2023On 20th June 2023, the Government of India(GoI) withdrew the draft of the Live-stock and Live-stock Products [Importation and Exportation] Bill, 2023, based on the objections from the section of the people including animal activists and religious groups.

This Bill was “re-enactment” of the present Live-stock importation Act (1898), and Live-stock Importation (Amendment) Act of 2001.

Background:
i.On 7th June 2023, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAH&D) released the draft bill and invited suggestions and objections up to 17th June 2023.
ii.Animal activists opposed the move to include canines and felines in the list of livestock.
iii.The section of the public also concerned that the implementation of the bill will result in reduction of the livestock population in India.
About the Bill:
i.The bill was aimed at framing measures for the regulation of the importation of livestock and livestock products as well as promotion and development of exports of livestock and livestock products.
ii. According to the bill, definition of live-stock includes all equines (donkeys, horses, mules, assess, hinnies), bovines (cattle, buffaloes, bullocks), caprines, ovines, swines, canines, felines, avian, laboratory animals, aquatic animals and except those prohibited in any other act.

This draft bill also includes any other animal which may be specified by the Central Government later.

UNDP partnered with DAY-NULM to empower women entrepreneurs On 20th June, 2023, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partnered with the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to empower women to make well-informed career choices in the field of entrepreneurship.

The partnership will provide support for women looking to start and expand their own enterprises in sectors such as care economy, digital economy, electric mobility, waste management, food packaging and more.
The 3 year project extendable beyond 2025, focused on promoting entrepreneurship development and accelerating enterprise growth will cover 8 cities in the initial phase.

Key People:
Mr. Rahul Kapoor, Joint Secretary and Mission Director; PM Svanidhi, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India; Shoko Noda, Resident Representative, UNDP India.
Key Points:
i. UNDP and DAY-NULM will collaborate on piloting innovative solutions, particularly in the care economy domain by drawing on their extensive sectoral expertise.
ii. UNDP and DAY-NULM will jointly engage in on-ground mobilisation activities that involve identifying pockets of urban poverty and potential entrepreneurs, as well as facilitating access to Business Development Services.

Handholding support will be provided to the unit to formalise their businesses, establish bank linkages, secure access to finance and markets.

iii. UNDP will offer national-level capacity building support to DAY-NULM by leveraging its experience in linking over 2,00,000 women to better employment opportunities.

This support will focus on knowledge generation and management, such as compiling collections of best practices related to urban poverty, to enhance the implementation of national-level schemes.

iv. UNDP will also contribute to the initiative by developing community business mentors called Biz-Sakhis in selected project locations.

These mentors, who possess valuable business knowledge, can support new and existing enterprises, and serve as a resource for DAY-NULM at a later stage.

v. The DAY-NULM has an aim to uplift the urban poor by enhancing sustainable livelihood opportunities through skill development. The scheme extends its coverage to all the 4,041 statutory cities and towns, thereby covering most of India’s urban population.
vi. DAY-NULM has mobilised more than 8.4 million urban poor women across India through its outreach efforts, forming over 8,31,000 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in over 4,000 towns.
vii. Their impressive grassroots initiatives facilitate economic empowerment and amplifies the voices of marginalised sections of the urban population, including Scheduled Castes (SCs)/Scheduled Tribes (STs), minorities, female-headed households, street vendors, and rag pickers.
About United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
Established in: 1965
Administrator- Achim Steiner
Headquarters- New York, the United States of America

Indian Army conducted Exercise Agneyastra 1 in eastern LadakhIndian Army’s Northern Command conducted “Exercise Agneyastra 1” on 19th June 2023, in eastern Ladakh to showcase India’s fire power supremacy.
Note: Agneyastra means firearms in Hindi.
About Exercise Agneyastra 1:
i.Artillery platforms of the Indian army such as the newly-inducted Korean K-9 Vajra-T 155mm/52 calibre self-propelled howitzer (SPH), FH-77 Bofors 155mm/39 calibre towed howitzer and mortars were a part of the Exercise Agneyastra-1.
ii.Anti-tank missiles and Carl Gustav rocket launchers (RLs) also participated in the exercise Agneyastra 1.
iii. Ideaforge’s Switch UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), a fixed wing and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) Hybrid UAV, was used to provide the real time imagery of the exercise area.
iv.Switch UAV also offers real-time Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) imagery of the target area, functioning day and night, even in harsh conditions at high altitudes.
About Indian Army:
Chief of the Army Staff- General Manoj Pande
Founded – 1895
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi

NHAI launches knowledge-sharing platform for highways development

On 20th June 2023, The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) launched a ‘Knowledge Sharing Platform’ to promote inclusive development of national highways.

The portal is launched to encourage the exchange of Knowledge and share innovative practices by experts and citizens.

Information in the form of video clips, PowerPoint Presentations (PPT), and Portable Document Format (PDF) files can be uploaded on the NHAI web portal https://ksp.nhai.org/kb/ which will be reviewed and evaluated by NHAI officials for implementation.

Global Gender Gap Index 2023: India Ranks 127th and Iceland TopsAccording to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual Global Gender Gap Report 2023, released on June 20 2023, India has closed 64.3% of the overall gender gap and ranked 127th out of 146 countries in terms of gender parity at the Global Gender Gap Index 2023 whereas Iceland Topped the index followed by Norway and Finland at 2nd and 3rd rank.

Thus India has improved by 1.4% points and 8 positions in 2023 compared with the 2022 edition. (India was ranked 135th in the 2022 Index).

The Global Gender Gap Index 2023 rankings:

Extreme weather events led to 12mn Children Displacements in 2022: UNICEF estimatesAccording to the estimates by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) on June 14, 2023, extreme weather events around the world, including unprecedented floods in Pakistan and the drought in the Horn of Africa drought, led to 12 million displacements of children in 2022.

By the end of 2022, a record 43.3 million children lived in forced displacement, almost 60% (25.8 million) were internally displaced by conflict and violence.
Internally displaced and refugee children, who are among the most vulnerable, often face barriers to education, healthcare, routine immunization, and social protection.

Highlights:
i.The number of children forcibly displaced from their homes doubled in the last decade.

The war in Ukraine has forced more than 2 million Ukrainian children to move from the country and displaced more than 1 million children inside Ukraine.

ii.The number of refugee and asylum-seeking children also hit a new record of 17.5 million, a number that does not even include those newly displaced in 2023, including by the conflict in Sudan.

More than 940,000 children have been displaced because of the conflict to date.

iii.According to The Global Report on Internal Displacement 2023 released in May 2023, the number of people displaced by disasters rose by 40% in 2022 compared to 2021,.
Key Urges made by UNICEF to Government:
i.Recognizing refugee, migrant and displaced children as children first and foremost with rights to protection, inclusion, and participation
ii.Providing safe and legal pathways for children to move, seek asylum and reunite with family
iii.Strengthening national education, health, child protection and social protection systems to include displaced children without discrimination
iv.Investing in national child protection systems

IRDAI Introduced Modifications to “Use and File” Procedure for Life Insurance ProductsOn 20 June 2023, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) introduced some modifications to the existing “Use and File” Procedure for Life Insurance Products.
Key Modifications:
i.IRDAI has included individual and group unit-linked life and health insurance products and allowed insurers to use and file the products under the modified procedure.
ii.IRDAI has also introduced ‘Combi products’, which allow the filing of Combi products where the life insurer is the lead insurer.
iii.The current Standardized File Identification Number (SFIN) clearance process by IRDAI is dispensed.
About Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
Chairperson – Debasish Panda
Headquarters – Hyderabad, Telangana
Establishment – 1999, Incorporated in 2000

IndiGo places 500 aircraft A320 order with Airbus

On 19th June 2023, at the Paris Air Show 2023, India’s airline InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (IndiGo) ordered 500 A320 aircraft, from French manufacturer Airbus scheduled to be delivered within the years 2030-2035.

The purchase agreement was signed in the presence of V. Sumantran, Chairman of the Board of IndiGo, Pieter Elbers, Chief executive officer(CEO) of IndiGo, Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, and Christian Scherer, Airbus’ Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International.

i.The aircraft’s ordered comprises A320NEO (New Engine Option), A321NEO and A321XLRs (Extra Long Range) aircraft.
ii.The engines of the aircraft will be decided by Airbus between Pratt & Whitney and CFM with a mix of A320 and A321 aircraft.
iii.This deal stands 2nd to Air India which made a deal of 470 aircraft with Airbus and Boeing Company in February 2023.

Star Alliance wins World’s Best Airline Alliance at the Skytrax 2023 World Airline AwardsOn June 20 2023, at the Skytrax 2023 World Airline Awards in Paris Air Show 2023, Paris, France, Star Alliance is named the World’s Best Airline Alliance Award for Singapore Airlines, and the Star Alliance Lounge at Los Angeles(LA) International Airport wins the top award as the Best Alliance Lounge for the 7th year.

The Star Alliance network which was established in 1997, is a global group of 26 airlines, including Air India, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and South African Airlines.
The 13 Star Alliance member airlines received 35 additional awards including World’s Cleanest Airline and World’s Best Premium Economy Class to several best regional airline awards.
Since its introduction in the award categories in 2005, Star Alliance has won the World’s Best Airline Alliance award several times.

The Skytrax World Airline Awards are known as “the Oscars of the aviation industry”, are decided through international customer voting.
This year’s survey represented passengers over 100 nationalities in 6 major international languages.

Hasmukh Adhia appointed as Chairman of GIFT City; Airavat Capital launches global technology fund at GIFT CityHasmukh Adhia, the Senior retired bureaucrat and former Union Finance Secretary & Revenue Secretary, has been appointed Chairman of GIFT City Ltd by replacing Sudhir Mankad, former chief secretary of Gujarat.

Besides, Hasmukh Adhia has also been appointed Director and Chairman of the boards of State public sector undertakings Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd (GACL) and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (GMDC) with immediate effect.

Note – GIFT City Ltd is an entity responsible for developing India’s first smart city Gujarat International Finance-Tec City in Gandhinagar.
On 20 June 2023, Investment management firm Airavat Capital announced the launch of Airavat Global Technology Fund R (AGTF R) at GIFT City.

The fund will offer Indian HNIs (High Net-worth Individuals) and institutional investors the opportunity to leverage Indian technology ecosystem insight to capitalise on the growth potential of top-listed technology companies worldwide.

Catalin Predoiu, Justice Minister of Romania appointed as Interim PM of Romania

Klaus Iohannis, the President of Romani has appointed Catalin Predoiu, the Justice Minister of Romania as the interim (Acting) Prime Minister (PM) following the resignation of current PM Nicolae Ciuca on 12th June 2023, as part of planned rotation of a ruling coalition.

Under the Constitution of Romania, the head of state appoints a candidate for the post of PM after consulting the party or coalition of political parties that have an absolute majority in Parliament.

Background:
i. In 2021, when the social-democrats (PSD) and the Liberals (PNL), together with the Hungarian minority party (UDMR), decided to form a coalition, they established a rotation of the PMs, with NicolaeCiuca serving until the end of May 2023.
ii. Under an agreement reached by the members of the ruling coalition that was sworn in in November 2021, Romania rotated its PM every 18 months before the next parliamentary elections, which are expected in December 2024.
iii. As per the agreement, Marcel Ciolacu, Social Democrats chief is expected to become the new PM with a vote in parliament set to take place in the third week of June 2023.
iv. The rotation should have taken place on May 25, 2023 but the teachers strike in Romania delayed it.
About Catalin Predoiu:
i. CatalinPredoiu, born 27 August 1968 was a Romanian lawyer, he joined the youth wing of the National Liberal Party of Romania in 1991.
ii. He served as Minister of Justice from 2008 to 2012 and Foreign Minister in 2009.
iii. He also served as acting PM after Emil Boc’s resignation from 6 to 9 February 2012.
iv. He also served as the Interim PM of Romania from 12th to 15th June 2023.
About Romania:
Capital- Bucharest
PM- Marcel CIOLACU (From 15th June 2023)
Currency- the Romanian Leu

Alibaba CEO Zhang Resigns to focus on Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group

On 20th June 2023, Daniel Zhang Yong, the 51-year-old Chinese business executive, has announced his resignation as Alibaba Group Holding chairman and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and to focus on Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group.

Zhang joined the retail giant in 2007 and became CEO in 2015 and chairman in 2019, succeeding co-founder Jack Ma.
Eddie Yongming Wu, chairman of Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall Group, is set to assume the role of CEO at Alibaba Group.
Joseph Tsai, the Executive Vice Chairman, is set to assume the position of Chairman, succeeding the current chairman.

CCI approves acquisition of stake by HDFC in 2 InsurersOn June 20, 2023, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) granted its approval to Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) to acquire a certain stake in HDFC Life Insurance Company and HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd.

These approvals will aid in the merger of HDFC into HDFC Bank, expected to be finalized by the Q3FY24.
In both cases, the merged entity HDFC Bank (after the effective date of the proposed amalgamation) will hold over 50% of the shareholding of the two insurance companies

Background:
On April 4, 2022, HDFC Bank agreed to take over HDFC in a deal valued at about USD 40 billion which is termed as the biggest transaction in India’s corporate history. In April 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permitted HDFC Bank or HDFC to raise their stake in HDFC Life Insurance Company and HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company to over 50%, effective until the merger date.

HDFC Limited is a public limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956

The Outcome:
The proposed entity i.e. ‘HDFC Bank’ will have a combined asset base of around Rs 18 lakh crore. Once the deal is effective, HDFC Bank will be 100% owned by public shareholders, and existing shareholders of HDFC will own 41% of the bank.

Every HDFC shareholder will get 42 shares of HDFC Bank for every 25 shares they hold.

HDFC sells 90% of its stakes in HDFC Credila for Rs 9,060 crore

Housing Development and Finance Corporation(HDFC) has sold its 90% stakes in HDFC Credila Financial Services, a education loan subsidiary of the (HDFC) to BPEA EQT and ChrysCapital for Rs 9,060 crore.
i.The Stakes are acquired by Kopvoorn BV, part of the BPEA EQT group, and Moss Investments, Defati Investments Holding B.V. & Infinity Partners,which are part of the ChrysCapital group
ii.The total revenue of HDFC Credila during the 2022-23 fiscal was Rs 1,352.18 crore and its net worth as on March 31, 2023, was Rs 2,435.09 crore.
Background for the sale:
The sale comes ahead of the completion of HDFC’ Ltd’s merger with HDFC Bank Ltd.,
as advised by RBI to bring down the shares in HDFC Credila Financial Services to 10% within 2 years.

International Yoga Day 2023 – 21st June The United Nations(UN)’s International Yoga Day(IDY) is annually observed across the globe on 21st June to create awareness about the benefits of practising yoga, an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India.

21st June 2023 marks the observance of the 9th International Yoga Day.

The theme of IDY 2023 is “Yoga for Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam” – ‘Yoga for ‘The World is One Family’.
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/69/131 in December 2014 and proclaimed the 21st June of every year as the International Day of Yoga.
ii.The first-ever International Day of Yoga was observed on 21st June 2015.
Observance:
The 9th International Day of Yoga is organised by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN in collaboration with the UN Secretariat at the UN Headquarters in New York, The United States of America (USA).
Note: Narendra Modi, Prime Minister (PM) of India, attended the Yoga program at the UN Headquarters.

World Hydrographic Day 2023 – June 21 World Hydrographic Day (WHD) is annually celebrated on 21st June across the world to raise awareness of the importance of hydrography and its major role in improving the knowledge of the seas and oceans.

This day also aims to publicise the work of Hydrographers all around the world.

The 2023 theme of World Hydrographic Day is “Hydrography – Underpinning the Digital Twin of the Ocean”

The 2023 theme for WHD is designed to highlight the relationship between hydrography and oceanography.

Background:
i. World Hydrography Day was approved and implemented as an annual celebration by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) in 2005.
ii. On 29th November 2005, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the Resolution A/RES/60/30 “Oceans and the law of the sea”, recognizing the establishment or adoption of World Hydrography Day to be celebrated on 21st June every year, by the IHO.
iii. The first ever World Hydrography Day was observed on 21st June 2006.
About International Hydrographic Organization (IHO):
Established in– 1921
Secretary-General– Dr Mathias Jonas (Germany)
Headquarters– Monaco

International Day of the celebration of Solstice 2023 – June 21

International Day of the Celebration of the Solstice for the year 2023 is observed globally on June 21 to highlight the importance of the solstice in the culture of many indigenous peoples and to encourage cultural exchange.

The International Day of the Celebration of the Solstice was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) on 20th June 2019 within the Resolution A/RES/73/300 to promote awareness around the astronomical events of Solstice and Equinox.
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice a year typically around June 20th or 21st and December 21st or 22nd. During a solstice, the tilt of the Earth’s axis is at its maximum, either pointing towards or away from the Sun.

The solstice:
Solstice is derived from the Latin words’sol’ (‘Sun’) and’sistere’ (‘to hold still’). The solstice is the point at which the Sun is at its greatest distance from the Earth and occurs 2 times every year.
i.Summer Solstice :- On June 21(initial solstice) usually referred to as the Summer Solstice for being the 1st day of summer and the longest day of the year occurs in June in Northern Hemisphere.
ii.On December 21 ,(2nd solstice) referred to as the Winter Solstice for being the 1st day of Winter and the shortest day of the year occurs in Winter in Southern Hemisphere.
The equinox:
An equinox is derived from the Latin aequinoctium, from aequus (equal) and nox (night).The equinox is when the Sun is above the Earth’s equator and occurs twice a year and the day and night time are of approximately equal duration.
i.Spring equinox which occurs on 20th March as it marks the beginning of Spring in most cultures.
ii.The other being the Autumnal equinox which occurs on 23rd September as it marks the beginning of autumn.

World Music Day 2023 – June 21 World Music Day is annually celebrated across the world on 21st June to encourage and honour the musicians and singers for the gift of music across the world. This day recognises the power of music in uniting people of different nationalities, cultures, and races around the world.

This day also serves as a platform and provides opportunities to the young and amateur musicians to showcase their talents.
World Music Day, also known as Fête de la Musique, meaning “Festival of Music” in French.
2023 marks the 41st Anniversary of the celebration of Fête de la Musique.

Note: The annual celebration of Fête de la Musique across the world coincides with the day of the Summer Solstice, a day symbolising the perfect balance of light and darkness.
Background:
i. In 1982 World Music Day was first celebrated as Fête de la Musique in Paris, France conceived by Jack Lang, an French Minister of Culture along with Maurice Fleuret, Director of Music and Dance of the Ministry of Culture, France.
ii. Maurice Fleuret, Jack Lang, along with Christian Dupavillon, architect-scenographer came up with a plan to unite the musicians on the streets of Paris (France) for the celebration of Fête de la Musique.
iii. The Celebration of Fête de la Musique was adopted as a global event on the occasion of the European Year of Music 1985.
iv. The day, which originated on 21st June 1982 in France, is currently celebrated in around 120 countries worldwide.
Events in India:
On the occasion of World Music Day 2023 and International Day of Yoga 2023 (21st June 2023), Sangeet Natak Akademi, has organised an event “Samyog”, at Meghdoot theatre complex, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi, Delhi.

The event includes, workshops related to Yoga and Music, and Music performances by various performers and musicians.

UP Government Launches ‘Polytechnic Chalo Abhiyan‘ to Motivate Technical Education Among Youth

On 16th June 2023, the Government of Uttar Pradesh(UP) launched ‘Polytechnic Chalo Abhiyan 2023’ to motivate youths to pursue technical education and take admission in polytechnic institutes.