TURKEY

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Context

• The death toll from an earthquake in Turkey and Syria has passed 11,000.

Geography

• About: Turkey is a transcontinental country located mainly on Anatolia in Western Asia, with a portion on the Balkans in Southeast Europe.
• Expanse: Asian Turkey, which includes 97 percent of the country's territory, is separated from European Turkey by the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles.
• Borders: It shares borders with Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest; the Black Sea to the north; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; and the Aegean Sea to the west. Cyprus is located off the south coast.
• Capital: Ankara is Turkey's capital, while Istanbul is its largest city and financial centre.
• Population: Turks form the vast majority of the nation's population and Kurds are the largest minority.

Syria

• Location: Syria is a Western Asian country located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant.
• Borders: It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea.
• Physical Features and Ethnicity: A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including the majority Syrian Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Armenians, Circassians, Albanians, and Greeks. Religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Yazidis.
• Capital and City: The capital and largest city of Syria is Damascus. Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Muslims are the largest religious group. Syria is the only country that is governed by Ba'athism, an ideology that advocates Arab socialism and Arab nationalism.

https://newsonair.gov.in/Spotlight.aspx#

VANDE BHARAT EXPRESS

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Context

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Vande Bharat Express trains have brought a revolution in the railway sector.

Vande Bharat Express

• The Vande Bharat Express offers a myriad of superior amenities which will provide passengers with aircraft like travelling experience.

Features

• Advanced state-of-the-art safety features including Kavach technology - an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System.
• The train has been provided with bogies having fully suspended traction motors for 160 km operational speed along with the advanced state-of-the-art suspension system ensuring a smooth and safe journey and enhanced riding comfort for passengers.
• The train has been designed to increase Indian Railways' Green footprint by dispensing with the power cars and saving about 30 per cent of electricity with the advanced regenerative braking system.
• In any emergency situation, loco pilot and train guard can easily communicate with each other as well as passengers, the loco pilot of the Vande Bharat Express.
• The new Vande Bharat trains would have improved features including reclining seats, automatic fire sensors, CCTV cameras, on-demand content with wifi Facility, three-hour battery backup and GPS systems to make travelling safer and more comfortable.
• It also has a photocatalytic ultraviolet air purification system in the roof-mounted package unit (RMPU) for air purification.
• The weight of the train has been reduced by 38 tonnes to 392 tonnes and it can continue functioning even with two feet of flood waters on the tracks. These are made of stainless steel. Due to less weight, the passengers would feel extra comfortable even at high speed.

Final Thought

• Most of the parts of the trains are "Made in India" except for a few small parts. Vande Bharat Express is a new-age train redefining passenger travelling in India.

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=Union-Minister-Ashwini-Vaishnaw-to-inaugurate-National-Philatelic-Exhibition--AMRITPEX-2023-on-Saturday&id=455577

AMRITPEX 2023

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Context

• Union Communications Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw will inaugurate the National Philatelic Exhibition - AMRITPEX 2023 - at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

Details

• This five-day event, organised by the Department of Posts under the Ministry of Communications, will showcase India's rich culture, heritage and history through stamps.
• For the first time in the country, new technology like virtual reality, augmented reality has been used to showcase the cultural heritage, history, nature, wildlife by narrating the stories of stamps.
• An Exhibition on the Transformative Journey of India Post will also be inaugurated on this occasion.

Philately

History of Philately in India

• The Indian Philatelic history began with the introduction of paper postage in India in 1852.
• Before that copper tokens were introduced for payment of postage in 1774. Their use was, however, not found to be very convenient and need was felt for some other token of pre-payment.
• With the success of Penny Postage in England, Sir Bartel Frere, the Commissioner of Sind introduced paper stamps for his province in 1852. These stamps, known as Scinde Dawk, were round in shape and were issued in three variations – embossed on white paper without colour, on white paper in blue and on vermilion wafers. They were withdrawn in October, 1854 on the introduction of the regular India Postage Stamps though their use continued for quite some time.
• In 1854, it was decided to issue stamps for the British India and in the interest of the economy, to have them printed them in India. The first design for the India Postage stamps was attempted by Col. Forbes of Calcutta Mint showing the 'Lion and the Palm tree'.
• While the first India Postage Stamps issued in 1854 bore the inscription 'India Postage', the inscription was changed in the same year to 'East India Postage'. This was changed from 1882 to 'India Postage' and continued till 1962.
• From November, 1962, a new caption 'भारत' 'INDIA' was introduced replacing the 'India Postage', though three stamps issued in December, 1962/January 1963 carried the earlier inscription.
• From the beginning of British Imperialist Rule, when the Queen Victoria stamps were issued in 1854, a portrait of British Monarch had figured in Indian Stamp Designs. This came to an end with India gaining independence on 15th August, 1947. The first independence stamps, issued in 1947, were three in number. They depicted the Ashoka Pillar, (National Emblem of India) the Indian National Flag and an Aircraft. Since then India has issued more than 3000 Stamps.

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=Union-Minister-Ashwini-Vaishnaw-to-inaugurate-National-Philatelic-Exhibition--AMRITPEX-2023-on-Saturday&id=455577

INDIA'S ACCREDITATION SYSTEM RANKED 5TH GLOBALLY

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Context

• India's accreditation system under the Quality Council of India has been ranked 5th in the world.

Details

• The global quality Infrastructure Index ranks the 184 economies across the world on the basis of the quality infrastructure.
• The accreditation helps establish the competence and credibility of conformity assessment bodies which perform testing, certification and inspection.

Quality Council of India

• The Quality Council of India was set up in 1997. It was set up as a public-private partnership model on the model existing in the Netherlands at the time.
• It was jointly set up by the Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the 3 industry associations;
  • Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
  • Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
  • Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
• QCI got established under the Societies Registration Act 1860, to provide accreditation services in various sectors for products, services and persons.
• The Council is independent and works under the directions of its Governing Body.
  • The governing body has equal representation of government, in dustry and industry associations.
• It does not get any funds or financial support from the government; it is a self-sustaining non-profit organization with its own Rules.
• QCI work includes project management, monitoring the performances of various cells, data analytics and tactical research.
  • The key responsibilities include creating timelines and assessing the requirement of the plans, coordination with the stakeholders, methodology formulation and the overall execution and mobilization of the projects.
• QCI conducts an extensive survey to measure the success rate of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
• QCI introduced a voluntary certification to assure standardized yoga practices across the world.
• The Chairman of QCI is nominated by the Prime Minister of India.

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=India%26%2339%3bs-accreditation-system-ranked-5th-globally&id=455561

WORLD GOVERNMENT SUMMIT

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Context

• The World Government Summit 2023 is set to begin on February 13th in Dubai.

About World Government Summit

• The World Government Summit is an annual event held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• It brings together leaders in government for a global dialogue about governmental process and policies with a focus on the issues of futurism, technologyinnovation and other topics.
• The summit acts as aknowledge exchange hub between government officials, thought leaders, policy makers and private sector leaders and as an analysis platform for the future trends, issues and opportunities facing humanity. 
• The summit hosts over 90 speakers from 150 participating countries, along with over 4000 attendees.
• The summit aims to drive positive change and to promote innovation in the public sector by exploring new ideas, technologies, and best practices in governance.
• Over the course of the summit, attendees engage in discussions, debates, and interactive sessions on topics such as the future of work, sustainable development, artificial intelligence, and the role of government in shaping a better world.

World Government Summit 2023

• Theme: The Summit will be held under the theme of "Shaping Future Governments".

It will bring together global thought leaders, global experts, and decision makers to share and contribute to the development of tools, policies, and models that will be critical in shaping future governments.

• This year's edition will bring together over 250 ministers from around the world, as well as over 10,000 government officials, thought leaders, and global experts. The sessions and forums will be enriched by over 80 international, regional, and governmental organizations.

https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=India%26%2339%3bs-accreditation-system-ranked-5th-globally&id=455561

PERU

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Context

• In Peru, around 585 sea lions and 55,000 wild birds have died due to the H5N1 bird flu virus in recent weeks.

Read: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/bird-flu-30

Geography of Peru

• Location: Peru is a country in western South America. It lies wholly in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Borders: It is bordered in the north by Ecuadorand Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pacific Ocean.
• Habitat: Peru is a megadiverse countrywith habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west to the peaks of the Andes mountains extending from the north to the southeast of the country to the tropical Amazon basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon River. 
• Capital: Its capital and largest city is Lima.
• Climate: The combination of tropical latitude, mountain ranges, topography variations, and two ocean currents (Humboldt and El Niño) gives Peru a large diversity of climates. The coastal region has moderate temperatures, low precipitation, and high humidity, except for its warmer, wetter northern reaches. In the mountain region, rain is frequent in summer, and temperature and humidity diminish with altitude up to the frozen peaks of the Andes. The Peruvian Amazon is characterized by heavy rainfall and high temperatures, except for its southernmost part, which has cold winters and seasonal rainfall