Global Talent Competitiveness Index (GTCI)
- It is released by INSEAD business school in partnership with Tata Communications and Adecco Group.
- It looks at 68 variables such as ease of ease of hiring, gender earnings gap, and prevalence of training in firms.
- GTCI 2019 addresses the topic of entrepreneurial talent and global competitiveness.
- Switzerland followed by Singapore, the US, Norway and Denmark were the top five on the list of countries.
- China emerged as the best performer among the BRICS countries, with an overall position of 45th.
- India has moved up one position to rank 80th on the 2019 Global Talent Competitiveness Index.
- According to it, India's biggest challenge is to improve its ability to attract and retain talent.
- However, India performed better than its lower-income peers when it comes to growing talent and access to growth opportunities.
Kurumba Painting
- Kurumbas are the tribe who live in the mid-ranges of the Nilgiris or “blue-mountains”.
- The Kurumba art is traditionally practiced by only either by the male members of the temple caretakers, or priest to the Kurumba village.
- The women of the family contribute to the decorations at home in the form of borders around the door and windows and kolams on the floor.
- The art are primarily ritualistic, describing various facets of tribal life.
- Often it is painted on the outer wall of the temple and the house.
- Eluthu paarai is an ancient 3000-year-old rock-painting site of Kurumbas in the Kothagiri region of the Nilgiris.
- The rock art depictions in this site come under the category of ‘petrographs’ means “rock art”.
- Rock engravings are called ‘petroglyphs’.
Pithora Paintings
- The Pithora painting form is traditionally performed on walls inside the homes of the Rathvas tribe.
- In times of difficulty, Rathva seek the guidance of Badva, the chief priest or shaman of the village.
- Badva performs readings based on the skills he has acquired through ancestral schooling, and recommends undertaking a vow to paint Pithora in the home in order to gain a boon from Baba Pithora.
- The person who undertakes the vow is known as Ghardhani, or in simple terms, home owner.
IAFTX 2019
- Indian Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX)-2019 was held recently in Pune.
- The joint training exercise is being conducted with more than a dozen African countries & India.
- It aims at synergizing humanitarian mine action and joint peace operations.
Source: The Hindu, PIB
