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Posted 19 Feb 2024

9 min read

Economic cooperation between India and Taiwan

India and Taiwan signed a migration and mobility agreement that will facilitate the employment of Indian workers in Taiwan.
- Though India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic ties, the bilateral trade relations have been growing deeper.
- The total investment of Taiwanese enterprises in India is around $4 billion, covering areas including footwear, machinery, automobile components, ICT products, etc.

APEDA has taken agricultural exports to USD 26.7 billion in the fiscal year 2022-23.
- In 2022-23, India’s agricultural exports reached USD 53.1 billion, with APEDA contributing a significant 51% of India’s Agri-exports.
About APEDA
- Established under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act, 1985.
- APEDA is entrusted with responsibility of export promotion and development of scheduled products such as fruits, vegetables, poultry, dairy, confectionery products etc.
APEDA, as Secretariat to National Accreditation Board, accredits certification bodies under National Programme for Organic Production.

"Aarogya-Doctors on Wheels" initiative is launched for the Udhampur district of J&K.
It is an Artificial Intelligence-driven Tele Clinic to provide healthcare facilities in far flung areas of the region.
- Herein a patient can narrate his illness or complaint in native language and the AI doctor understands the language and responds to the patient in the same language.
This free telemedicine facility overcomes the problems of ‘Accessibility, Availability and Affordability'.

Asteroids named Iris and Massalia (rich in silicate) were found to emit the unique wavelength that “unambiguously” indicated the presence of water molecules.
- Discovery was made by studying SOFIA's observations.
  - SOFIA was NASA’s airborne astronomical observatory that was retired in 2022.
Asteroids
- They are small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun. They are much smaller than planets.
- Significance of water on asteroids
  - Can shed light on how water was delivered to Earth.
  - Could be helpful in search for extraterrestrial life.

The 58th Jnanpith Award for the year 2023 has been awarded to Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya ji for Sanskrit and Shri Gulzar for Urdu.
Jnanpith Award
- The Award has been given by Bharatiya Jnanpith annually since 1965 for outstanding contributions to Indian literature.
  - Bharatiya Jnanpith, formally established in 1944, is one of the premier literary organizations and publication houses in India.
- Recognized as the highest literary award.
- Conferred for literature in Indian languages and English.
Presented by Presidents, Prime Ministers and international celebrities.