Short News Article

History

Bihar Diwas 2023

On March 22 is celebrated as Bihar Diwas.

About:

• Bihar Diwas is observed on March 22.
• On this day in 1912, Bihar and Orissa were carved out from the Bengal presidency as separate states.
• Bihar Diwas 2023 is a public holiday across the state as offices, companies, banks, and educational institutes under the central and state governments remain closed.
• This year, the state of Bihar will complete 111 years of existence.
• The theme of Bihar Diwas 2023 is “Yuva Shakti Bihar Ki Pragati”, which simply translates to Progress of Bihar through Youth Power.
• The Bihar government has organised a string of multicultural events and programs to celebrate the day.
• The objective of the celebration was to restore the pride of Bihar in the hearts of the people.

Historical Significance:

• Bihar Diwas marks the formation of the state from the Bengal presidency.
• The state was formed on March 22, 1912, when the British government partitioned the Bengal Province.
• The day also provides an opportunity for the people of Bihar to showcase their culture, history, traditions and heritage.

Art and Culture

Open corridor to Sharda Peeth

Home Minister Amit Shah e-inaugurated Mata Sharda Devi temple near LoC in J&K's Kupwara.

About:

• Sharda Peeth is located at Neelum Valley in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir across Teetwal village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district along the Line of Control.
• Objective: They want to revive the Kashmir Valley and Jammu old traditions, civilisation and “Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb.”
• The government has taken efforts for cultural rejuvenation of the region.

Significance:

• Sharada Peeth (also spelt as Sharda and translates to the seat of Hindu Goddess Saraswati') was once regarded as a major centre of higher learning of Vedic works, scriptures and commentaries.

Polity and Governance

Uganda makes it a crime to identify as LGBTQ

Uganda’s parliament passed a Bill making it illegal to identify ‘as an LGTBQ person’.

About:

• The new law will be the first to outlaw merely identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ), according to rights group Human Rights Watch.
• In addition to same-sex intercourse, the law bans “promoting and abetting” homosexuality as well as “conspiracy to engage in homosexuality.
• Violations under the law draw severe penalties, including death for so-called aggravated homosexuality and life in prison for gay sex.
• Aggravated homosexuality involves gay sex with people under the age of 18 or when the perpetrator is HIV positive, among other categories, according to the law.

Economy

Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS)

The electronic platform Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) — introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to finance or discount invoices of MSMEs and finances around 35,000 factoring units (FUs) per month.

About:

• Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) is an invoice discounting platform set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for regulating the trade receivables between Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), large organisations and financiers.
• TReDS is beneficial not only to those above but to the entire Indian economy.
• The key objective of the TReDS is to facilitate the financing of invoices of MSME vendors drawn on big organisations and other corporates, including Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and Government Departments, by discounting by the financiers.
• The participants in this system work together to facilitate, accept, discount, and settle the invoices.
• TReDS’ primary purpose is to help MSMEs manage their working capital requirements.