Current affairs 01 December 2023

Uganda qualifies for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

• Uganda caused a major upset as it beat Zimbabwe to qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, becoming only the fifth African nation to feature in the history of the competition.
• This will be Uganda’s first-ever appearance in an ICC World Cup event.
• With five wins from their six games, Uganda has ensured a top-two finish in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Qualifier and booked it's tickets for the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA.

India to build 10,000 houses in Sri Lanka's tea plantation areas.

• India will build 10,000 more houses in the plantation areas of Sri Lanka in an extension of its housing project in the country.
• It may be recalled that the overall commitment of the Government of India under the Indian Housing Project currently stands at 60,000 houses.
• While 46,000 houses were completed in Northern and Eastern Provinces in the first two phases, the third phase for the construction of 4,000 houses in plantation areas is nearing completion.

Abdullahi Mire wins 2023 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award.

• Abdullahi Mire has been named the 2023 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award Global Laureate for his work championing the right to education for displaced children.
• Abdullahi Mire born in Somalia, Mire grew up in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya.
• He has put over 100,000 books in the hands of displaced children and youth in the country.
• Award will be presented at a ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 13, 2023.

World Bank funded National Agricultural Higher Education Project New Delhi.

• The World Bank funded National Agricultural Higher Education Project and Indian Agricultural Research Project New Delhi, Modern Agricultural Science Technology Center for Climate Adapted Agriculture and Water Management has been launched at MPAU, in Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra.
• The faculty working in Mahatma Phule Agricultural University will be trained in the use of drones, robots, IOT, artificial intelligence, geographic systems, remote sensing, earth engines, etc.

Railways to upgrade anti-collision tech Kavach to LTE.

• The Ministry of Railways looks to upgrade to 4G/5G (LTE-based) its indigenous anti-collision system Kavach and expedite its implementation. Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.
• If the driver fails to do so, and prevents the collision between two locomotives equipped with functional Kavach systems.
• Kavach is already in operation across more than 1,465 route kilometres (rkm) with work ongoing for over 3,000 rkm.