9th edition of International Day of Yoga 2023 (GS Paper 2, Health)
Why in news?
- The 9th edition of International Day of Yoga 2023 was celeberated on 21st June.
- The main National event at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh saw enthusiastic participation of more than 15,000 people, who participated in the Common Yoga Protocol (CYP) demonstration in presence of Vice President of India.
- In 2023, the Prime Minister he will lead an IDY event at UN headquarters in New York.
Theme:
- The theme of International Yoga Day 2023 was “Yoga for Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, which also represents as “One Earth, One Family, One Future.”
Ocean Ring of Yoga:
- The highlight of 9th International Day of Yoga was unique concepts of creation of Ocean Ring of Yoga.
- Nearly 3500 naval personnel onboard 19 Indian Naval ships travelled over 35,000 Km as ambassadors of Yoga in both national and international waters. This includes over 2400 personnel on 11 IN ships at foreign ports/international waters.
- Notably, IDY was celebrated onboard ships of several foreign Navies in concert with our overseas Missions, involving over 1200 foreign Navy personnel.
Yoga from Arctic to Antarctica:
- Yoga from Arctic to Antarctica was another facet where Yoga demonstration was organized in countries falling in and around Prime Meridian line and on North Pole and South Pole regions.
- Scientists/Researches at India’s research bases in Arctic and Antarctica namely Himadri and Bharati also participated in Yoga demonstration.
- Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force along with ITBP, BSF, and BRO made a chain of Yoga demonstration in unison named Yoga Bharatmala.
- Similarly yoga demonstration along Indian coast line and islands termed Yoga Sagarmala was also formed.
Har Aangan Yoga:
- For engaging with rural communities Ministry of Ayush had elaborately planned to spread message of “Har Aangan Yoga”.
- Yoga demonstration was organized at Panchayats, Anganwadi, Health and Wellness Centres, and schools, around 2 lakhs common service centres, Ayush Gram Unit and location around Amrit Sarovar.
International Day of Yoga:
- The idea of International Day of Yoga (IDY) was proposed by India during the opening of the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), held in 2014.
- The UN proclaimed 21st June as IDY by passing a resolution in December, 2014.
- The first Yoga Day celebrations in 2015 at Rajpath in New Delhi created two Guinness World Records.
UNDP partners with DAY NULM towards empowering women entrepreneurs
(GS Paper 2, Indian Society)
Why in news?
- Recently, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) entered into a collaborative partnership aimed at empowering women to make well-informed career choices in the field of entrepreneurship.
Key Highlights:
- The partnership will provide support for women looking to start and expanding their own enterprises, particularly in sectors such as care economy, digital economy, electric mobility, waste management, food packaging and more.
- Focused on fostering entrepreneurship development and accelerating enterprise growth, the three-year project, extendable beyond 2025, will cover eight cities in the initial phase.
Women entrepreneurship:
- Women entrepreneurship is a proven strategy for poverty alleviation, financial independence, and reshaping gender norms.
- Today, women account for only 15 percent of the total entrepreneurs in India.
How UNDP and DAY-NULM collaboration will help?
- Leveraging its experience in linking over 2,00,000 women to better employment opportunities, UNDP will offer national-level capacity building support to DAY-NULM.
- This support will focus on knowledge generation and management, such as compiling compendiums of best practices related to urban poverty, to enhance the implementation of national-level schemes.
- UNDP and DAY-NULM will jointly engage in on-ground mobilization activities that involve identifying pockets of urban poverty and potential entrepreneurs, as well as facilitating access to Business Development Services.
- UNDP will also contribute to the initiative by developing community business mentors called Biz-Sakhis in selected project locations. These mentors, who possess valuable business knowledge, can support new and existing enterprises, and serve as a resource for DAY-NULM at a later stage.
DAY-NULM:
- The DAY-NULM has an aim to uplift the urban poor by enhancing sustainable livelihood opportunities through skill development. The scheme extends its coverage to all the 4,041 statutory cities and towns, thereby covering most of India’s urban population.
- Through its outreach efforts, DAY-NULM has mobilized more than 8.4 million urban poor women across India, forming over 8,31,000 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in over 4,000 towns.
- Their impressive grassroots initiatives facilitate economic empowerment and amplifies the voices of marginalized sections of the urban population, including SCs/STs, minorities, female-headed households, street vendors, and rag pickers.
Senate India Caucus to introduce bill to add India to NATO Plus bloc
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Why in news?
- The U.S. Senate’s India Caucus Co-Chairs, Mark Warner (Democrat, Virginia) and John Cornyn (Republican, Texas), will introduce legislation to give India ‘NATO plus five’ defence status.
- The Warner announcement follows a recommendation from a U.S. House of Representatives committee on China that India be included in the club.
What is NATO Plus?
- NATO Plus, currently NATO Plus 5, is a security arrangement that brings together NATO and five aligned nations: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel and South Korea to boost defence and intelligence ties.
Why US is keen on making India a member?
- The main reason behind the US being so interested in inclusion of India in the bloc is attributed to ensure seamless intelligence sharing between the group countries and India would get easy access to the cutting-edge military technology without any delay.
- India is already an important member of the Quad group, which includes Japan, Australia and the United States.
Way Forward:
- It would facilitate the transfer of topmost American technology and defence equipment without much bureaucratic hassle, amid growing challenges from a rising China.
