- Recently, the Government of the State of Bihar released findings of the Caste Survey, 2023 –
- Recently, the Government of the State of Bihar released findings of the Caste Survey, 2023 which revealed that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) together constitute 63 % of the state’s total population.
- The findings are supposed to have wider connotations in the State and National Elections and also in the identification of intended beneficiaries for various welfare schemes.
- The last caste census was conducted in 1931, and data was made publicly available by the British Government of the day.
- The survey was carried out in two phases, which each had its own criteria and objectives-
First Phase- During this phase, the number of all households in Bihar were counted and recorded.Enumerators were given a set of 17 questions which were to be mandatorily answered by the respondent.
Second Phase- During this phase data on people living in the households, their castes, sub-castes, and socio-economic conditions were collected.However, filling the Aadhaar number, caste certificate number and ration card number of the head of the family, were optional.
What is the Significance of the Bihar Caste Survey Findings-
- Increasing the OBC Quota
- Redrawing of 50% Reservation Ceiling
- Fulfilment of Constituional Obligations
- Chemistry Nobel 2023 –
- The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 was awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Alexei I. Ekimov.
- The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the discovery of quantum dots used in light-emitting diode or LED lights.These particles have unique properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps.
- They catalyze chemical reactions and their clear light can illuminate tumour tissue for a surgeon.
- In the early 1980s, this year’s chemistry laureates Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov succeeded in creating (independently of each other) quantum dots.
- In 1993, chemistry laureate Moungi Bawendi revolutionized the methods for manufacturing quantum dots, making their quality extremely high which is a vital prerequisite for their use in today’s nanotechnology.
- Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 awarded to Jon Fosse –
- The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 was awarded to Norwegian author Jon Fosse or Jon Olav Fosse, “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable”.
- The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by the Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden. The Nobel Prize amount for 2023 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 11.0 million per full Nobel Prize.
- Jon Fosse, born in 1959, is widely considered one of the most important writers of our time. For almost forty years he has written novels, plays, poems, stories, essays, and children’s books. His award-winning work has been translated into more than fifty languages, and his plays have been staged over a thousand times all over the world.
- The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded 115 times to 119 Nobel Prize laureates between 1901 and 2022.
- The Nobel medal in literature was designed by Swedish sculptor and engraver Erik Lindberg and represents a young man sitting under a laurel tree who, enchanted, listens to and writes down the song of the Muse.