Current Affairs August 9 2019

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INDIAN AFFAIRS

President Ram Nath Kovind approves National Medical Commission Bill, 2019
On August 8, 2019, President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind approved the  National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2019 which repeals the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. The NMC Act has provisions to set up the National Medical Commission which will frame policies for regulating medical institutions and medical professionals and assess the requirements of healthcare-related human resources and infrastructure.

Department of Heavy Industry sanctions 5,595 e-buses for 64 cities under FAME India- Phase II
On August 8, 2019, Under the Scheme of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric vehicles (FAME) India- Phase II, the Department of Heavy Industry under the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises sanctioned 5,095 e-buses to 64 cities/state transport corporations for intra-city operations, 400 e-buses for intercity operation and 100 e-buses for last-mile connectivity to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
Key Points:
i. They will run about 4 billion kilometres during their contract period. It is expected to save cumulatively about 1.2 billion litres of fuel. It will result in reduction of 2.6 million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions.
ii. The highest number of buses were sanctioned for Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad with 300 each.
iii. The department had invited expressions of interest (EoIs) from million-plus cities, smart cities, state/Union Territory capitals and cities from special-category states for submission of proposal for deployment of e-buses on an operational cost basis.
FAME India Scheme:
It is an incentive for the promotion of electric and hybrid vehicles in the country. Its first phase started in 2015 and was completed on March 31 this year. The second phase started from April 1 and will be completed by March 31, 2022.

Government of Odisha launched Small Savings Incentive Scheme
On August 8, 2019, Odisha government unveiled the ‘Odisha Small Savings Incentive Scheme‘ for the calendar year 2019 under the notation “AQ” series. The aim of the scheme is to stop people from transacting with ‘suspicious’ non-banking private financial institutions.
Key Points:
i. Any eligible person who deposits a minimum amount of Rs 2,000 in any Small Savings Schemes during the calendar year 2019 in any Post office or bank situated within Odisha can obtain a free web-based coupon from the office of the collectors, sub-collectors and block development officers.
ii. A state-level lucky draw of the scheme will be held on April 26, 2020, in which the people can win cash award as an incentive for their habit of thrift.
iii. There are 2428 number of prizes in 7 categories, amounting to Rs.74 lakhs. The first prize will be Rs 5 lakh.
About Odisha:
♦ Capital: Bhubaneshwar
♦ Governor: Prof. Ganeshi Lal
♦ Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
♦ Dance forms: Odissi, Chhau, Gotipua, Danda Nata, Sambapuri, Dalkhai, Chaitighoda, and Medha Nacha
♦ National Parks: Bhitarkanika National Park, Simlipal National Park
♦ Wildlife Sanctuaries: Badrama WLS, Chandaka Dampara WLS, Chilika (Nalaban)  WLS, Debrigarh WLS, Karlapat WLS, Kotagarh WLS, Nandankanan WLS, Sunabeda WLS etc.

India’s first underwater train will be launched in Kolkata
Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal announced that India’s first underwater train project is set to launch in Kolkata, West Bengal under the Hooghly river. It is a 16-kilometer long Kolkata Metro project. Key Points:
i. It will connect Salt Sector 5 with Howrah Maidan.
ii. The phase-one of the project connecting Salt Lake Sector-5 to Salt Lake Stadium will be operational.
iii. The tunnel is provided with four-layers of protection to shield the tunnel from the water of the Hooghly river.

Manipur tops the rank in breastfeeding report released by health minister
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Health and Family welfare released a report on Breastfeeding in New Delhi where states were ranked based on Breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in the country. Key points
i. Ranks: The ranking was topped by Manipur.
The worst performing states were Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar.  The national capital Delhi is also one among the worst-performing states.
ii. Three indicators: A composite scorecard for breastfeeding is devised based on three indicators. They are-

• early initiation of breastfeeding
• exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and
• complimentary feeding at 6-8 months of child’s age.

iii. Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding is essential for infants to keep them away from being malnutritioned and also it prevents mother from breast and ovarian cancer.
iv. The first week of August is observed as world breastfeeding week with the theme “Empower parents, Enable Breastfeeding”.

Swedish software Urkund to be accessed for free by Indian Universities
Urkund is an anti-plagiarism (anti-piracy, anti-theft) Swedish software. It has been chosen to be accessed for free by Indian Universities through global tender process. On August 2, 2019 trial access to the Urkund software was provided.
Key points
i. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a notice that the final subscription to access the software would be from September 1, 2019.
ii. The Human Resource Development (HRD) secretary K.Subrahmanyam announced that the software will be provided to 900 universities.
iii. The previously used software was Turnitin but it was found to be 10 times more expensive without a proportionate increase in features or reliability.
Level of offence
i. A thesis if it has minor similarities of upto 10% of the document, there will be no penalties. Bt if it has 40% of similarities then it is considered as a level 1 offence and the offender would have to withdraw the manuscript.
ii. Similarity of thesis between 40% and 60% is level 2 offence and the offender will be denied one annual increment and not be allowed to supervise any master degree or a Ph.D degree for two years.
iii. The similarity of thesis above 60% is a level 3 offence and the offender will be denied two annual increments and also debarment from research supervision for three years.
iv. Repeated offences resulting in higher level penalties would lead to suspension and termination.

Samagra Siksha -Jal Suraksha drive launched by MHRD
The drive Samagra Siksha – Jal Suraksha which aims to create awareness among school children about water conservation was launched by Union Minister of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Dept. of School Education & Literacy, to make them conscientious and committed water citizens of the nation.
Keypoints
Launch:
The drive was launched at Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Auditorium, Kendriya Vidyalaya No.2 in Delhi.
i. The Government of India has launched Jal Shakthi Abhiyan (JSA) inspired by Prime Minister’s Jal Sanchay. The campaign for JSA was launched on 1st July 2019 as phase 1. Phase 2 of this campaign will be run from 1st October 2019.
JSA: It is a time-bound campaign with the mission to conserve water especially by children that can help them understand the importance of water and the impact it creates in day to day life.
Five Major Objectives:

• Educate students about water conservation.
• Sensitive students about the impact of water scarcity.
• Empower students to learn to protect the natural resources of water.
• Help every student to save at least 1 litre of water per day.
• Encourage students to judicious use and minimum wastage of water at home and school level.

Target:
The govt. has also set a target to make each student save 3650 litres of water in 10years by saving 1litre water per day for 10years.

22nd National Conference on e-Governance 2019 inaugurated in Shillong
The 2 days lasting 22nd National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG) 2019 was launched by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State(Independent charge) for Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and Minister of State (MoS) for Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Space. This is the first-ever e-Conference in the northeast region in Shillong, Meghalaya.Key points
i. The theme of this Conference was “Digital India: Success to Excellence”.
ii. The chief guest for this conference was Meghalaya Chief Minister Shri Konrad Sangma. The conference saw participants from 28 states and all Union territories.
iii. “Shillong Declaration on e-Governance” was adopted in the conference as a way of takeaways from the session to be referred and developed upon in the future.
iv. Dr. Jitendra Singh talked about various achievements done by the government in serving the people during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule
v. The Government is taking utter effort to make digital literacy universal and has laid down the target completion by 2022, which will mark the 75th Independence year of India.
Other officials in the conference

• Shri Hamletson Fouling, Minister of IT and communications.
• Shri K.V Eapen, secretary of Departure of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
• Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, secretary of MeitY (Ministry of electronics and information technology).
• Shri P.S. Thangkhiew, Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

SCO exercise “Tsentr (centre) 2019” to be participated by India with Pakistan, China
India and Pakistan will be participating in the upcoming major military exercise “Tsentr (centre) 2019” under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), to be held from tentatively scheduled period of September 10-21 at Orenburg, Russia. All the members of SCO will be participating in the exercise. The decision to hold the exercise was announced at the 34th SCO Regional Anti- Terrorist Structure council held earlier this year in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan.
SCO members – China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan.

Work of the exercise:

• Demonstrating the employment of forces in the coalition states in countering International terrorism
• Providing military security in the Central Asian region
• The exercise will simulate conventionally and counter-terrorist operations carried out by the group of troops of coalition states against “ A rogue state responsible for spreading state-sponsored terrorism in the region”.
• Program on cybersecurity will be conducted for the contingent. The Indian army has tasked a cybersecurity commander to ensure that no security breach occurs during the exercise.

Final planning conference:
The final planning conference defining the modalities of conducting the exercise will be held at Orenburg, Russia from August 20-22. About 140 troops from the Indian army unit are to participate in the exercise.
Special invites: Russia has specially sent invites to Iran, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, and Belarus to participate in the exercise.

BANKING & FINANCE

PNB Housing Finance raises fresh equity of Rs 522 cr via ECB from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
On August 6, 2019, PNB (Punjab National Bank) Housing Finance Limited (PNBHFL) raised fresh equity of Rs 522 crore ($75 million) as External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) of Singapore.
Key Points:
i. The ECB is under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) automatic route of approval.
ii. The proceeds will be used by the PNBHFL as per the applicable RBI guidelines.
iii. It was the second ECB borrowing of the company for 2019-20. It had raised $100 million via ECB from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in July 2019.
About PNBHFL:
♦ Headquarters: New Delhi
♦ MD: Sanjaya Gupta

RBI’s Task Force on Offshore Rupee Markets headed by Usha Thorat recommends extension of onshore market hours 
The Task Force formed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Offshore Rupee Markets headed by Usha Thorat has recommended the extension of onshore market hours to 9 am to 9 pm, from 9 am to 5 pm, to improve access of overseas users and allow Indian banks to freely offer prices to global clients around the clock. Key Points:
i. Background: The panel was constituted in August 2018, in view of the sharp growth in offshore trading volumes in the rupee Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) (Offshore markets) market.
ii. Other recommendations: A liberal currency trading regime that would include permitting $100 million Over The Counter (OTC) trades without underlying exposure, aligning tax treatment with global standards are among the recommendations of the panel. Banks may be allowed to freely offer prices to non-residents at all times, out of their Indian books, either by a domestic sales team, or by using staff located at overseas branches. Non-deliverable rupee derivatives (with settlement in foreign currency) may be allowed to be traded in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), and IFSC Banking Units may be allowed to deal in such derivatives with a distinct foreign currency-Indian rupee (INR) position limit.
iii. Opinion: RBI has invited comments on the report by August 31, 2019, from every stakeholder.
About RBI:
♦ Headquarters: Mumbai
♦ Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata
♦ Governor: Shaktikanta Das
♦ Deputy Governors: 4 (BP Kanungo, N S Vishwanathan, and Mahesh Kumar Jain, the 4th is yet to be appointed)

Scheduled bank status is given to Jana Small Finance Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gave the status to Jana Small Finance Bank to operate as a Scheduled Bank.
Key points
Establishment and branches: The bank was established in the year 2009. Currently, it operates 260 branches and 338 asset centres with over 5.5million customers.
Bank’s aim: To provide financial inclusion to underserved sections of society, like small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries.
Plans: The erstwhile (former) named as Janalakshmi Financial services plans to convert 98 asset centres and 103 Unbanked Rural Centres (URC) into full-fledged bank branches by the end of the current fiscal year.
About URC
It is defined as a rural centre that does not have banking outlet of a scheduled commercial bank, a Payment Bank or a Small Finance Bank or a Regional Rural Bank nor a branch of a Local Area Bank or licensed Co-operative bank for carrying out customer based banking.
About Jana Small Finance Bank
♦ Headquarters- Bangalore.
♦ MD & CEO-  Ajay Kanwal.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Flipkart ranked No 1 in LinkedIn’s list of best workplaces in India for 2019
In LinkedIn’s fourth edition of Top Companies list for India 2019, Walmart acquired Flipkart was ranked first place as the best workplace in India. It was evaluated over the 4 criteria as part of the rankings: interest in the company, engagement with the company’s employees, job demands and employee retention. It has ranked 25 companies. Top 10 Companies

About Flipkart:
♦ Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
♦ Founded: October 2007
♦ CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Overview of National Film Awards 2019
On August 9, 2019, The annual National Film Awards 2019 were announced by by jury heads Rahul Rawail, AS Kanal and Utpal Bhorpujari. It was the 66^th Edition.
i.Film friendly state: Uttarakhand bagged an award for the film friendly state. This new award was instituted in 2019………………………………Click here to Read more
List of Winners:

Vikram Sarabhai Journalism Award in Space science announced by ISRO for 2019-2020
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has instituted “Vikram Sarabhai Journalism Award in Space Science, Technology and Research” in two categories of awards in journalism as part of the centenary year celebration of the father of Indian Space Programme, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.Key points
This award is to recognise, reward and honour journalists who have contributed to the field of journalism actively. The articles of journalists from 2019 to 2020 will be considered for the award.
First category:
Two journalists or freelancers of print media or journalists will be awarded in this category based on the basis of articles and success stories published in Hindi, English or regional languages in science magazines, journals in India.
i. Cash prize of Rs. 5,00,000, a medal and a citation will be given.
Second category:
This category will be awarded similarly based on the basis of the first category but holds 3 cash prizes. The three cash prizes are of Rs. 3,00,000  Rs. 2,00,000 and Rs.1,00,000 with a citation for each journalist or freelancers from print media.
i. The winner names of the awards will be announced on August 1st, 2020.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DAC chaired by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh approves acquisition of two Brahmos missile batteries for Indian Navy
On August 8, 2019, The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh approved the procurement of indigenous Software Defined Radio (SDR Tactical) worth Rs 1,100 crore and Next-Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (NGMMCB, Long Range) for the Indian Navy worth Rs 1,247 crore.
Key Points:
i. The SDR is a complex and state of the art communication system. It enables information sharing, collaboration, and situational awareness through high-speed data and secure voice communication with anti-jamming capability.
ii. SDR is designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Weapons Electronics System Engineering Establishment (WESEE).
iii. NGMMCB, LongRange will be fitted with supersonic BrahMos surface-to-surface cruise missiles and will be deployed along the coast. It is developed and manufactured in India by Indo-Russia Joint Venture Company, M/s BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.
iv. The DAC also approved amendments to the Defence Procurement Procedure 2016. Its amendments are designed to simplify processes under the ‘Make’ category and ‘Offsets’.
About Ministry of Defence:
♦ Headquarters: New Delhi
♦ Founded: August 15, 1947

Falcon 9 rocket launched by SpaceX carrying AMOS-17 satellite of Israel
The US (United States) carrier rocket Falcon 9 carried Israel’s satellite AMOS-17 off the pad in Florida, America. This is SpaceX’s 25th reflight of an orbit class rocket and also this booster’s third flight.
Key points
Launch
At sharp 23:24 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) the rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, America.
i. The launch was delayed a day as there was an issue in the valve. The launch was postponed to replace the suspect valve and perform a second static fire test.
Static fire test:
It is the pre-launch test that SpaceX conducts before each launch.
AMOS-17:
The communication satellite will be used by the US military and other govt. Leaders for secure voice, video and data communications.  It is a replacement for Amos-5 and provides coverage over the continent of Africa, as well as Europe and the Middle East.
About SpaceX
♦ Founded- May 6, 2002
♦ Founder and CEO- Elon Musk
♦ Headquarters- Hawthorne, California, US.

ENVIRONMENT

Remains of the world’s largest bird “Heracles inexpectatus” on earth discovered
Remains of the World’s largest parrot, Heracles inexpectatus that lived 19 million years ago have been discovered in New Zealand which is well known for giant birds. It is nicknamed as “Squawkzilla”.i. The report on this bird has been published in the latest edition of Biology Letters.
Key points
About the bird:
This flightless bird has been named as Heracles inexpectatus reflecting the Herculean myth of size and strength and unexpected nature of discovery.
Size:
The bird is estimated to have weighed about 7kg with a height that stood more than half of an average man or about 3 feet (1 meter) tall, according to experts from Flinders University, Australia, UNSW (University of New South Wales) Sydney, and Canterbury Museum, New Zealand. This parrot with its massive beak could crack open wood and even preyed on other smaller parrots.
Discovery:
The bones of this parrot were found in 2008. Since then researchers spent 11years gathering dust on a shelf until the team looked at them again earlier this year.
i. The previously known largest parrot is a critically endangered flightless bird of New Zealand Kakapo. This Heracles is twice the size of kakapo and approximately the size of giant ‘dodo’ pigeon.

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SPORTS

Archery Association of India suspended by World Archery
The World Archery (WA) has suspended the Archery Association of India (AAI) due to the internal factionalism (dispute and disagreements within the body).Key points
Factionalism:
This factionalism rose between Union Tribal Affairs minister Arjun Munda and BVP Rao (former AAI president), when  Archery Association of India on Sunday unanimously elected both of them in separate elections in New Delhi and Chandigarh respectively. This led to a confusion of not knowing who the actual elected body is.
Settlement time:
The WA gave time to AAI to settle down the disputes within July 31, 2019. However as there was no progress towards a solution, The WA decided to suspend the AAI.  The suspension will be effective from August 12, 2019.
Player’s representation:
All Indian archers will have to participate/ compete International tournaments as independents.
Last match representing India:
i. The last match Indian Archers are to compete representing India in the World Archery Youth Championships 2019 which is to be held in Madrid, Spain.
ii. This event will be held from August 19-25.
iii. The Archery players are allowed to participate under the Indian national flag and represent India in this match alone.
iv. After the World Archery Youth Championship, the players will be allowed to participate under World Archery flag till the suspension is uplifted.
Additional time:
Even Though WA has suspended AAI, additional time has been given to AAI to sort out the issue within August 31, 2019.
Need to resolve dispute:
i. Asian Championships and Asian para Championships will award quota places for the Tokyo Olympics next year.
ii. So there would be a big hurdle to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics if the Indian athletes don’t represent India in the upcoming Asian Championships and Asian para Championships as the matches fall on dates after the World Archery Youth Championships.
iii. India has already secured three men’s spots for the Olympics but is yet to win women’s spot.
About WA
♦ Secretary general-  Tom Dielen.
♦ Headquarters- Lausanne, Switzerland.

12 member channel for national sports awards features Mary Kom, Bhaichung Bhutia
This year’s national sports awards to athletes and coaches will be decided by a 12 member panel. This panel features 6-time world boxing champion M.C. Mary Kom and former Indian football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia. The national sports awards are to be given on National Sports Day falling on August 29, which marks the birth anniversary of legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand.
Head of committee:
The committee is headed by retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Mukundakam Sharma.
Other members:

• Sports Secretary Radhey Shyam Jhulaniya.
• Sports Authority of India Director General Sandeep Pradhan.
• Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) Chief Executive Officer Commander Rajesh Rajagopalan.
• Ex-Indian women’s cricket team captain Anjum Chopra.
• Former long-jump player Anju Bobby George.
• Table tennis coach Kamlesh Mehta.

i. The committee also features two media persons. They are

• Rajesh Kalra, Chief editor of Times Group (digital).
• Charu Sharma, Renowned sports commentator.

ii. The committee will select all winners of National Sports Awards of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award (award for sports coaches), Dhyan Chand Award (lifetime achievement award) and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Award.

Belt and Road China Hunan International tournament 2019 won by Surya Shekar Ganguly of India
36-year-old ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) staff from Kolkata, Surya Shekar Ganguly, won the 2019 Belt and Road China Hunan International tournament, a chess competition held at Hunan province, China.
Key points
i. Started as a fifteenth seed, he finished with 7 points from 9 round to win the game.
ii. He collected 27.5 Elo points and was also awarded $50,000 (Rs. 35 lakh).
iii. The runner up was Yu Yangyi from China as Ganguly was half a point more than Yangyi.
iv. Ganguly needed only a draw in the final round against Fransisco Vallejo of Spain which he obtained after 36 moves.
v. He finished his campaign unbeaten with five wins and four draws.

South African cricketer Hashim Amla retires from international cricket
South African batsman Hashim Amla, aged 36, announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. He will pay for domestic cricket and the Mzansi Super League in South Africa.i. In his 15-year career, he appeared in 349 matches across three formats and scored 18,762 runs. He hit 55 international centuries.
ii. He is the only South Africa batsman to score a triple century — 311 not out against England at The Oval in 2012.
iii. In World Cup 2019, against a match with New Zealand, he became the second-fastest player to score 8,000 runs in One Day Internationals (ODIs).

IMPORTANT DAYS

Nagasaki Day 2019 observed on August 9
Nagasaki Day was observed on August 9, 2019. On this day, the United States had dropped an atomic bomb known as “Fat Man” on Nagasaki city of Japan in 1945 during World War II. The first bomb nicknamed ‘Little Boy’ was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945. 2019 marks the 74^th anniversary of the disastrous event.

International Day of the World’s Indigenous People 2019 observed on August 9 
International Day of the World’s Indigenous People was observed on August 9, 2019. It is celebrated to raise awareness about the protection of the rights of the world’s indigenous population. The theme of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2019 is ‘‘Indigenous Languages”.Key Points:
i. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a Resolution (A/RES/71/178) on ‘Rights of Indigenous Peoples’, proclaiming 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages.
ii. On 23 December 1994, the UNGA declared August 9 as International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
iii. The date marks the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in 1982.
iv. 2019 Celebrations took place in the ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) Chamber at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
4 in 10 indigenous languages are at risk of disappearing
United Nations Human Rights Experts have claimed that out of the 7,000 indigenous languages spoken in the present world, 4 in 10 are in danger of disappearing.
Key Points:
i. The experts included the panels that report to the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), along with a UN-appointed investigator known as a Special Rapporteur.
ii. It claimed that “nation-building” was largely responsible for “ongoing discrimination” against native speakers.
iii. The time frame of 10 years along with the resources required was provided by the experts in order to reverse the historic destruction of indigenous languages and reclaim these languages for the future of indigenous peoples and the world community.
About UNGA:
♦ Headquarters: New York, US
♦ President: María Fernanda Espinosa (73rd session), Prof. Tijjani Muhammad Bande (designated for the 74th session, September 2019)

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