European Council
- The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collective body that defines the European Union's overall political direction and priorities.
- Established as an informal summit in 1975, the European Council was formalized as an institution in 2009 upon the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon.
- It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission.
- The President of the European Council is elected by the European Council by a qualified majority for a once-renewable term of two and a half years.
- The European Council has no legislative power, but it is a strategic body that provides the union with general political directions and priorities, and acts as a collective presidency.
- The European Commission remains the sole initiator of legislation, but the European Council is able to provide an impetus to guide legislative policy.
- The meetings of the European Council, still commonly referred to as EU summits, are chaired by its president and take place at least twice every six months.
Hunar Haats
- Hunar Haat is an exhibition cum sale of art and craft products of our country.
- It is an annually organized by Ministry of Minority Affairs under USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) scheme at multiple locations.
- The USTTAD scheme aims to promote and preserve the rich heritage of the traditional arts & crafts of the minority communities.
- “Hunar Haat” has proved to be “Empowerment Exchange” for master artisans and craftsmen.
- Government aims to provide employment opportunities to lakhs of artisans, craftsmen and traditional culinary experts through “Hunar Haat” in the next 5 years.
Hunar Hubs
- Union Minority Affairs Ministry is establishing “Hunar Hubs” in every state of the country in the next five years.
- Hunar Hubs train and encourage indigenous talent of master artisans, craftsmen, traditional culinary experts according to modern needs.
Nagpur Resolution
- It a holistic approach for empowering citizens’ adopted during regional conference organized by DARPG in Nagpur.
- The conference was organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), in collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra.
- The resolution aims to empower the citizens by policy interventions for better service delivery through timely updating of citizens charters, implementation of enactments and benchmarking standards for continuous improvement.
- It also aims to ensure timely publication of Good Governance Index to identify the quality of governance in 10 sectors especially those pertaining to welfare and infrastructure at the Union, State and District levels.
- Shillong Declaration and Jammu Resolution are other two resolutions, which was adopted for good governance.
Spandana Initiative
- It is an initiative of Andhra Pradesh Government to make police stations more approachable for the public, especially women.
- Spandana (means response) centers have been established within the premises of all District Collector offices and police stations.
- These centers mostly have a female receptionist and other staff members who are trained, briefed and sensitized in handling women victims and complainants.
- Spandana centres spread across the district, and each have video conferencing facility, it is easier and cheaper for people to lodge complaints.
- They no longer have to travel to the district headquarters to follow up.
International Olympic Committee
- The International Olympic Committee is a non-governmental sports organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Established in 1894, it is the authority responsible for organizing the modern summer and winter Olympic Games.
- The IOC is the governing body of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic Movement.
- The IOC Session is the general meeting of the members of the IOC, held once a year in which each member has one vote.
- Indian Olympic Association is the National Olympic Committee of India, located in New Delhi.
The peregrine falcon
- It is one of the world's most common predatory birds, has the fastest vision in the animal kingdom,
- It can register nearly 130 frames per second, where humans see up to a maximum of 50 to 60 blinks per second.
- This new discovery was published in Journal of Experimental Biology, it is the first time scientists have studied the speed of vision among birds of prey.
- The speed at which different birds of prey process visual impressions is related to their hunting needs.
- For the peregrine falcon, which hunts fast-flying birds, the ability to spot ultra-speed movements helps them detect prey sufficiently early in order to have time to react.
Source: PIB, Indian Express
