Rapid Fire Current Affairs | 02 Feb 2023

Khadi Fashion Show

Recently, a mega ‘Khadi fashion show’ was organised by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in Rann of Kutch/ Kachchh. This mega event was the first such event of KVIC to establish new dimensions of the Khadi brand all over the world. The government of Gujarat holds a three-month long festival known as ‘The Rann Utsav’ every year.

The Rann of Kachchh is a salt marshy land in the Thar Desert in the kachchh district of western Gujarat. It lies between Gujarat in India and the Sindh province in Pakistan.

It is famous for its white salty desert sand and is reputed to be the largest salt desert in the world. The inhabitants of Kachchh are called Kachchhi and have a language of their own with the same name. Most of the population in Rann of Kachchh comprises of Hindus, Muslims, Jains and Sikhs.

WAN-IFRA

Recently, the Hindu Group has won four awards at the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) Digital Media South Asia Awards 2022 for its various products and services. This was the sixth edition of the digital media awards for South Asia.

WAN-IFRA is the global organisation of the world’s press. Its mission is to protect the rights of journalists and publishers around the world to operate independent media. The goal is to provide members with expertise and services to innovate and prosper in a digital world and perform their crucial role in society.

Read More: Freedom of Media

IIMR in Hyderabad: Centre of Excellence (CoE)

Recently, during the presentation of the Union Budget 2023, Union Finance Minister announced that the Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR) in Hyderabad will act as a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for ‘Shree Anna’ to take the research on millets to the international level and make India a global hub for millets.

India is the world’s largest producer and second largest exporter of several types of ‘Shree Anna’ (millets) with a share of 41% in 2020, as per the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are leading producers.

As the year 2023 has been declared the ‘International Year of Millet’ by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The IIMR is considered the main driver behind the surge in the interest and consumption of millet-based products in the country in the last 5-6 years.

Myanmar Extends Emergency Rule

Recently, Myanmar's junta announced the extension of the country's state of emergency by another six months.

‘Coup’ is generally described as a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.

In the November 2020 parliamentary election, Suu Kyi’s party National League for Democracy (NLD) secured the majority of the seats.

In Myanmar's Parliament, the military holds 25% of the total seats according to the 2008 military-drafted constitution and several key ministerial positions are also reserved for military appointees. When the newly elected Myanmar lawmakers were to hold the first session of Parliament in 2021, the military imposed a state of emergency for one year citing massive voting fraud in the parliamentary elections.

Read More: Military Coup in Myanmar