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1. The recent visit of Jamaica's Prime Minister to India marked the first-ever bilateral visit between the two nations. Key outcomes included meetings with India's President to enhance partnerships in parliamentary, academic, and cultural exchanges, along with several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on digital infrastructure, cultural exchange, and sports. Both countries share a strong historical bond, established diplomatic relations in 1962, and have a significant Indian diaspora in Jamaica. They are aligned in goals for economic growth and equity, and both are members of international organizations like the Non-Aligned Movement and G-77.
2. The "Free to Think 2024" report by Scholars at Risk highlights a significant decline in academic freedom in India, with the Academic Freedom Index score dropping from 0.6 to 0.2 between 2013 and 2023. India is now classified as "completely restricted," the lowest since the mid-1940s. Key threats include political control, restrictions on protests, conflicts between central and state governments, and intimidation of scholars leading to self-censorship. Globally, the report notes 391 attacks on higher education in 51 countries, emphasizing a broader crisis in academic freedom. The Academic Freedom Index assesses these conditions based on five key indicators.
3. India participated in the 44th session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) in Germany, making significant contributions to global food safety and nutrition standards. CCNFSDU, part of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), develops standards for special dietary foods like infant formulas and dietary supplements. India emphasized the need to update outdated FAO/WHO probiotic guidelines from 2001 and 2002 and called for harmonized regulations to boost global trade. Additionally, India proposed calculating the combined Nutrient Reference Value-Requirement (NRV-R) for children aged 6 to 36 months by averaging two age groups, which was accepted by the committee.
4. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) celebrated its 10th anniversary on October 2, 2024. Launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the mission aimed to make India Open Defecation Free (ODF) by building individual and community toilets and improving waste management in schools and anganwadis. Notably, 10 crore toilets were constructed, and nearly 6 lakh villages were declared ODF by October 2, 2019. In 2021, SBM 2.0 was introduced to tackle garbage-free cities, manage faecal sludge, address plastic waste, and enhance greywater management. Currently, all 4,715 Urban Local Bodies are ODF.
5. On the 95th birth anniversary of Shyamji Krishna Varma, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the renowned revolutionary, born on October 4, 1857, in Mandvi, Gujarat. Varma, influenced by leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founded the Indian Home Rule Society in 1905 and established India House and The Indian Sociologist, a journal promoting nationalist ideas. As the first President of the Bombay Arya Samaj, he played a pivotal role in inspiring young Indians to resist British rule. Following criticism from British authorities, he moved to Paris and then settled in Geneva, where he lived until his death on March 30, 1930.