Election Commission appointed Maithili Thakur as Bihar’s state icon

Why In News

Folk singer Maithili Thakur was appointed the state icon for Bihar by the Election Commission. The singer will create awareness among the voters for their participation in the electoral process.

Key Points

Folk singer Maithili Thakur was appointed the state icon for Bihar by the Election Commission. The singer will create awareness among the voters for their participation in the electoral process. This recognition will give her (Maithili) more impetus to spread Bihar’s folk music across continents and generate awareness about the importance of participating in the electoral process.

Maithili Thakur:

Maithili, born in Bihar’s Madhubani district, along with her two brothers, were trained by their grandfather and father in folk, Hindustani classical music, harmonium and tabla. She has rendered traditional folk songs of Bihar in Maithili, Bhojpuri and Hindi. Thakur, trained in Indian classical and folk music, was recently selected for the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar of the Sangeet Natak Akademi for her contribution to the folk music of Bihar for 2021.

Union Cabinet: Mopa Airport to be Named After Late CM of Goa Manohar Parrikar

Key Points

Union Cabinet has approved the naming of Greenfield International Airport at Goa's Mopa as Manohar International Airport after former Defence Minister and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Why In News

The Union Cabinet has approved the naming of Greenfield International Airport at Goa’s Mopa as Manohar International Airport after former Defence Minister and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. The airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2022 at Mopa Goa. The airport will be named after the late Manohar Parrikar to honor his contribution to building modern Goa.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mopa International Airport, at Goa. The foundation stone of the airport was also laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2016. The Mopa International Airport is developed at a cost of around Rs 2,870 crores.

The airport has been built on the theme of sustainable infrastructure and comprises a solar power plant, green buildings, LED lights on the runaway, rainwater harvesting, and a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant with recycling facilities. Phase I of the airport will cater 4.4 to million passengers per annum (MPPA). It can be expanded up to the capacity of 33 MPPA.

Manohar Parrikar was the chief minister of Goa, leader of the BJP, and a member of RSS. Manohar Parrikar died due to pancreatic cancer in his hometown Panaji. He was an Indian politician and the most dynamic right-wing leader. He served as the Chief Minister of Goa from 14th March 2017 till his death. During his governance, the state has been political stability and growth. He served as Goa’s Chief Minister from 2000 to 2005 and from 2012 to 2014.

Manohar Parrikar was born on 13th December 1955 in Mapusa, Goa. He completed his schooling at Margao and Loyola High school. He became the Mukhya Shikshak in RSS in 1973. He continued his services at RSS after completing his graduate degree in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT Bombay. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2018 and at an age of 63, he passed away on 17th March 2019.

Manohar Parrikar’s political career started in 1994 when he became an MLA in the Assembly of Goa as a member of the BJP. On 24th October 2000, he became the Chief Minister of Goa for the first time, however, his tenure ended on 27th February 2002. He was re-elected as the Chief Minister of Goa and again the tenure shut down as four of the BJP MLAs resigned from the house.

He was again appointed as the Chief Minister in March 2012 and remained till November 2014. Later, he was appointed as the Defence Minister of India by Prime minister Narendra Modi. In 2017, he resigned as the Union Defence Minister and was sworn in again as the Chief Minister of Goa.

President Murmu Inaugurated the 18th National Jamboree of BS&G

Why In News

The President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the 18th National Jamboree of the Bharat Scouts and Guides at Pali, Rajasthan on 4th January 2023.

Key Points

The President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the 18th National Jamboree of the Bharat Scouts and Guides at Pali, Rajasthan on 4th January 2023. The President of India noted that the Bharat Scouts and Guides is the largest voluntary, non-political, uniformed youth organization and educational movement in the country.

The Bharat Scouts and Guides work for the character-building of boys and girls without any distinction of creed, race, or gender. The organization is working with a spirit of dedication and service which promotes the welfare of humanity.

In the 18th National Jamboree, over 35,000 scouts and guides from all over the country will participate.

The 18th National Jamboree will be held from 4th January 2023 to 10th January 2023 in Rajasthan.

Rajasthan is hosting the National Jamboree of the Bharat Scouts and Guides after 66 years.

To accommodate the participants, a smart Village has been set up with all the facilities on a 220-hectare area at Nimble Village and 3500 hundred tents have been erected at the venue.

President Droupadi Murmu said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bharat Scouts and Guides have shown exemplary courage in serving society.

Scouts and Guides can play an important role in making people aware by adopting renewable energy, reducing their carbon footprint, and promoting sustainable development practices.

The President also noted that Scouts and Guides must educate people about the importance of protecting biodiversity, maintaining the environmental balance, and promoting responsible tourism practices.

India is considered a young country in the world, as youth are the builders of the future nation.

Jason Moo appointed as CEO of Bank of Singapore

Why In News

Bank of Singapore (BoS), the private banking arm of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), announced that it has appointed Jason Moo as its new CEO.

Key Points

Bank of Singapore (BoS), the private banking arm of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), announced that it has appointed Jason Moo as its new CEO. BoS’s announcement comes after Bloomberg’s article on Dec 26, 2022. Moo will succeed Bahren Shaari officially from March 6 onwards.

Moo comes with over 25 years of experience in private banking, wealth management and capital markets. This includes 22 years in Goldman Sachs, as well as time spent in New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. From 2017 to 2019, Moo was the CEO for Goldman Sachs (Singapore). Moo joins BoS from Julius Baer where he was head of private banking, Southeast Asia and branch manager Singapore. Aside from Singapore, he has also worked in New York and Hong Kong. Shaari was appointed CEO in 2015. Under his leadership, the bank successfully integrated Barclays Asia after the acquisition, and grew its assets under management from US$55 billion to US$109 billion as at September 30 2022.

The Bank of Singapore

The Bank of Singapore is the private banking arm of OCBC Bank. Formerly known as ING Asia Private Bank, it was acquired by OCBC Bank in 2009 from ING Group for US$1.46 billion. As of 30 September 2022, Bank of Singapore’s assets under management was US$109 billion.  The Bank of Singapore serves high net worth individuals and wealthy families in its key markets of Asia, Greater China, the Indian subcontinent and other international markets.

India Takes Over Leadership of the Asian Pacific Postal Union

Why In News

India has taken over the leadership of the Asia Pacific Postal Union (APPU) in January 2023. Dr Vinaya Prakash Singh will take over the charge of Secretary General of the Union for a tenure of 4 years

Key Points

India has taken over the leadership of the Asia Pacific Postal Union (APPU) in January 2023. Dr Vinaya Prakash Singh will take over the charge of Secretary General of the Union for a tenure of 4 years. This is the result of the elections during the 13th APPU Congress held in August-September 2022.

Asian Pacific Postal Union:

There are 32 members in this international organisation from the Asia-Pacific. It is a specific department inside the UN. The sole Restricted Union of the Universal Postal in the area is this one. The Asia Pacific Postal Union’s headquarters are in Bangkok, Thailand.

It was formed by International treaty through an Asian-Pacific Postal Convention signed in Yogyakarta on 27 March 1981.

The organisation has origins dating back to 1961.

Secretary general leads the activities of the Union and is also the director of the Asian Pacific Postal College (APPC) which is the largest inter-governmental postal training institute in the region.

Asian Pacific Postal Union(APPU)’s Goals:

The goal of APPU is to extend, facilitate and improve postal relations between member countries and to promote cooperation in the field of postal services. As the regional center for various UPU projects, APPU also takes the lead in ensuring that all technical and operational projects of the UPU are fulfilled in the region so that the region is integrated into the global postal network in the best possible way.

Significance

The Asia Pacific region accounts for around one-third of the world’s postal workforce and about half of the world’s mail volume.

India seeks to improve the regional coordination with postal players in the Asia Pacific region to improve the growth of the business through the postal network, to ensure the sustainability of the Union.

This is the first time an Indian is leading an international organization in the postal sector.