Facts in News

                          Facts in News

MICE Roadshow – Meet in India

• Minister of State for Tourism and Culture (Independent Charge) will inaugurate the ‘Chhatrasal Convention Centre at Khajuraho developed under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism.
• He will also launch the “MICE Roadshow Meet in India” Brand and Roadmap for the Promotion of India as MICE Destination in Khajuraho.
  • The acronym “MICE” stands for “Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions”, and is essentially a version of business tourism that draws domestic and international tourists to a destination.

• It will provide a tremendous boost to Khajuraho as an iconic tourist destination particularly the MICE potential of Khajuraho.
  • The Ministry of Tourism has framed ‘Development of Iconic Tourist Destinations Scheme’ a Central Sector Scheme for the development of nineteen identified iconic destinations in the country following a holistic approach.

Khajuraho

• Khajuraho Temples are among the most beautiful medieval monuments in the country.
• These temples were built by the Chandella ruler between AD 900 and 1130.
• The group of temples of Khajuraho testifies to the culmination of northern Indian temple art .
• They fall into three distinct groups and belong to two different religions – Hinduism and Jainism. They strike a perfect balance between architecture and sculpture.

                                 Image Source :TOI

Adjourned sine die

• Adjournment sine die means when the House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly.
• Here, the sitting of Parliament is terminated for an indefinite period.
• It is the prorogation in which the President dismisses the House, resulting in termination of the session itself.
• In the Adjournment, only sitting is terminated not the session of the House.

Champion Services Sector Scheme

• Champion Services Sectors refers to the 12 identified sectors where the Government wants to give focused attention to promoting their development and realizing their potential.
  • These include Information Technology & Information Technology enabled Services (IT & ITeS), Tourism and Hospitality Services, Medical Value Travel, Transport and Logistics Services, Accounting and Finance Services, Audio Visual Services, Legal Services, Communication Services, Construction and Related Engineering Services, Environmental Services, Financial Services and Education Services.
• The respective line Ministries/Departments finalizes the Action Plans and the implementation timelines along with a monitoring mechanism to monitor implementation under the overall guidance of the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) under Cabinet Secretary.
• The idea was launched and accepted in February 2018.
• A dedicated fund of Rs. 5000 crores have been proposed to be established to support initiatives for sectoral Action Plans of the Champion Sectors.

Objective

• This initiative is expected to enhance the competitiveness of India’s service sectors thereby creating more jobs in India, contributing to a higher GDP and export of services to global markets.

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)

• It is a company with no commercial operations and is formed strictly to raise capital through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring an existing company.
• These are also known as “blank check companies”.
• Investors in SPACs can range from well-known private equity funds to the general public.
• Once the money is raised from the public, it is kept in an escrow account, which can be accessed while making the acquisition.
• If the acquisition is not made within two years of the IPO, the SPAC is delisted and the money is returned to the investors.

Passage Exercise (PASSEX)

• It is an exercise done between two navies to ensure that they are able to communicate and cooperate in times of war or humanitarian relief.
• Aim: Enhancing interoperability, improving understanding and imbibing best practices between both the friendly navies.
• Activities: Advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare exercises, weapon firings, seamanship exercises and helicopter operations.
• PASSEXs are conducted regularly by the Indian Navy with units of friendly foreign navies, whilst visiting each other’s ports or during a rendezvous at sea.

United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

• It was established in 1963.
• Objective: To provide innovative learning solutions to individuals, organizations and institutions for enhanced global decision-making and support country-level action for shaping a better future.
• Over the years, it has acquired unique expertise and experience in designing and delivering a variety of training activities for both the public and the private sectors.
• It launched a new four-year strategic framework (2018-2021), which is aligned with the 2030 Agenda and uses the Sustainable Development Goals as the guiding principle for its work with the strategic objectives organized around four out of five thematic pillars of the 2030 Agenda (Peace, People, Planet and Prosperity).
• Headquarters: Geneva.
• Funding: It does not receive any funds from the regular UN budget and is financed entirely from voluntary contributions from the UN Member States, UN agencies, international and intergovernmental organizations, foundations NGOs and the private sector.