5th BIMSTEC Summit

• Host: Sri Lanka (held in virtual mode).
• Theme: "Towards a Resilient Region, Prosperous Economies, Healthy People."
• BIMSTEC Charter: The summit saw the formal adoption and signing of the BIMSTEC Charter, providing the organization with a legal identity and a formal flag/emblem.
• Reorganization of Pillars: The 14 sectors of cooperation were streamlined into 7 pillars, each led by a member state:

  Pillar	Lead Country
  Security	India
  Agriculture & Food Security	Myanmar
  Connectivity	Thailand
  Science, Tech & Innovation	Sri Lanka
  Environment & Climate Change	Bhutan
  People-to-People Contact	Nepal
  Trade, Investment & Development	Bangladesh

• Connectivity: Adoption of the BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, which aims to provide a framework for regional connectivity projects.

Matua Dharma Maha Mela 2022

• Organizer: All India Matua Mahasangha.
• Location: Shreedham Thakurbari, Thakurnagar, West Bengal.
• Significance: Celebrated to mark the 211th birth anniversary of Shree Shree Harichand Thakur, the founder of the Matua sect.
• Focus: The movement historically focused on the upliftment of the oppressed, untouchables, and backward classes through education and social reform.

Varuna 2022 Naval Exercise

• Participants: Bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and the French Navy.
• Edition: 20th edition.
• Location: Arabian Sea.
• Objective: To enhance interoperability between the two navies and focus on maritime security operations in the Indo-Pacific region.

Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2021

• Released by: NITI Aayog in partnership with the Institute for Competitiveness.
• Objective: To identify challenges and opportunities for exports at the state level.
• Four Pillars of Ranking:
  1. Policy
  2. Business Ecosystem
  3. Export Ecosystem
  4. Export Performance
• Top Performing States:
  1. Gujarat (Retained top position)
  2. Maharashtra
  3. Karnataka
• Category Winners:
  • Himalayan States: Uttarakhand
  • UTs/City States: Delhi
  • Landlocked States: Haryana

Stockholm Water Prize 2022

• Recipient: Professor Wilfried Brutsaert.
• Significance: Often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of Water."
• Contribution: Awarded for his work in quantifying environmental evaporation, which helps in predicting the impact of climate change on the local water cycle and water availability.

TAPAS UAV Development

• Organization: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Platform: TAPAS-BH-201 (Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance-Beyond Horizon).
• Specifications:
  • Category: Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.
  • Role: Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR).
• Achievement: Successfully completed milestone flight tests, demonstrating autonomous take-off and landing capabilities.

Corporate Appointments

• ASSOCHAM: Sumant Sinha (Chairman of ReNew Power) took over as the President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) for 2022-23.