FEBRUARY MONTHLY CURRENT AFFAIRS 2022

FEBRUARY MONTHLY CURRENT AFFAIRS 2022: Monthly Current Affairs are very important for every competitive exam and as we all know, in the upcoming months, many government exams.

– 11th meeting of the India-Oman Joint Military Cooperation Committee was held in Delhi
– AP issues ordinance raising the retirement age of govt employees from 60 to 62
– Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Rupinder Singh Suri dies
– Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents Economic Survey 2021-22 in Parliament; Indian economy estimated to grow by 9.2% in 2021-22 after contracting 7.3% in 2020-21
– Govt. approves sale of PSU Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) to Tata Steel Long Products Ltd for Rs 12,100 crore
– Core sector grows 12.6% during April-December
– Govt extends term of IPO-bound LIC’s chairman & MD by one year
– Portugal election results: Ruling Socialist Party secures absolute majority in Parliament; Antonio Costa to continue as PM
– Magnus Carlsen of Norway wins Tata Steel Chess Tournament held in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands
– Odisha Open badminton tournament held at Cuttack: Unnati Hooda (women’s), Kiran George (men’s) win singles titles
– India hockey goalkeeper PR Srejeesh wins World Games Athlete of the Year for his 2021
performances
– Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Union Budget for 2022-23 in Parliament
– Capital expenditure outlay hiked by 35.4%
– Total expenditure in 2022-23 is estimated at Rs. 39.45 lakh crore
– Total receipts other than borrowings in 2022-23 are estimated at Rs. 22.84 lakh crore
– Fiscal deficit in the current year: 6.9% of GDP (against 6.8% in Budget Estimates)
– Fiscal deficit in 2022-23 is estimated at 6.4% of GDP
– Direct Taxes: Provision to file an Updated Return on payment of additional tax. This will enable the assessee to declare income missed out earlier.
– Direct Taxes: No change in income tax slabs
– Scheme for taxation of virtual digital assets: Any income from the transfer of any virtual digital asset is to be taxed at a rate of 30%.
– Gems and Jewellery: Customs duty on cut and polished diamonds and gemstones being reduced to 5%
– Customs duty of at least Rs 400 per Kg to be paid on imitation jewellery import
– Customs duty on umbrellas being raised to 20%. Exemption to parts of umbrellas being withdrawn.
– Tariff measure to encourage the blending of fuel: Unblended fuel to attract an additional differential excise duty of Rs 2/ litre from Oct 1, 2022
– National Highways Network to be expanded by 25000 Km in 2022-23.
– Railways: One Station One Product concept to help local businesses & supply chains.
– Ken Betwa project: 1400 crore outlay for implementation of the Ken – Betwa link project.
– MSME: Emergency Credit Linked Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to be extended up to March 2023.
– Skill Development: Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood (DESH-Stack e-portal) will be launched
– Startups will be promoted to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ and for Drone-As-A-Service (DrAAS)
Current Affairs [PDF] – February 1-15, 2022
– Education: ‘One Class-One TV channel’ programme of PM eVIDYA to be expanded to 200 TV channels.
– Health: An open platform for National Digital Health Ecosystem to be rolled out.
– Har Ghar, Nal Se Jal: Rs. 60,000 crores allocated to cover 3.8 crore households in 2022-23
– Housing for All: Rs. 48,000 crores allocated for completion of 80 lakh houses in 2022-23 under PM Awas Yojana.
– NE: New scheme PM-DevINE (Development Initiative for North-East Region) launched for the North-East.
– Vibrant Villages Programme for development of Border villages on the northern border.
– Banking: Scheduled Commercial Banks to set up 75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs) in 75 districts.
– Accelerated Corporate Exit: Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE) to be established for speedy winding-up of companies.
– AVGC Promotion Task Force: An animation, visual effects, gaming, and comic (AVGC) promotion task force to be set-up to realize the potential of this sector.
– Defence: 68% of capital procurement budget earmarked for domestic industry in 2022-23, up from  58% in 2021-22.
– Digital Rupee: Introduction of Digital Rupee by the Reserve Bank of India starting 2022-23.
– States: In 2022-23, States will be allowed a fiscal deficit of 4% of GSDP, of which 0.5% will be tied to power sector reforms
– Amaravati remains the capital city of Andhra Pradesh: Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai
– INS Vagir, the fifth Scorpene-class made-in-India submarine, sails out for first sea trial
– Two new Ramsar sites (Wetlands of International Importance) in India — Khijadia Wildlife
Sanctuary in Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in U.P — announced by Minister for
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav
– India and Nepal sign MoU for construction of a motorable Bridge over the Mahakali River
connecting Dharchula (India) with Dharchula (Nepal)
– China celebrates coming of Lunar new Year of the Tiger; end of Year of the Ox
– World Wetlands Day observed on Feb 2; theme: “Wetlands Action for People and Nature”
– Ecuador: Landslip kills at least 22 in capital Quito
– IISc, Bengaluru commissions supercomputer Param Pravega having supercomputing capacity of 3.3 petaflops
– Foundation stone laid for 3rd border haat in Bangladesh-India border laid in Tripura
– Veteran actor Ramesh Deo dies at 93 in Mumbai
– RBI cancels licence of Maharashtra-based Independence Co-operative Bank
– Export Import Bank of India, Sri Lanka sign $500-million loan agreement aimed at helping
Colombo cope with its current fuel shortages
– Haryana’s 75% quota for locals in private jobs put on hold by Punjab & Haryana High Court
– Sonali Singh given charge of Controller General of Accounts
– US: FBI confirms purchasing spyware tool Pegasus from Israel-based NSO Group
– India announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics; China’s decision to field PLA Galwan commander as Olympic torchbearer cited as reason
– U.P best tableau among states/UTs, Navy best marching contingent among Services at R-Day
parade
– Swachhta Saarthi Fellowship 2022 announced by Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, GoI
– Govt decides to continue the Scheme of Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram for another 5 years
– Proposal to rename MP’s Hoshangabad district as Narmadapuram cleared by Centre: CM Shivraj  Singh Chouhan
– Employees of Malayalam news channel MediaOne move HC against centre’s order banning
channel
– JNU Vice Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar appointed as Chairman of University Grants Commission
– India’s foreign exchange reserves down by $4.531 billion to $629.755 billion in the week ended Jan 28
– Centre imposes stock limit quantities on edible oils and oilseeds upto 30th June, 2022
– IndiGo appoints Co-founder Rahul Bhatia as Managing Director
– Russia closes office of German broadcaster Deutsche Welle
– International Day of Human Fraternity celebrated on Feb 4 by UN
– World Cancer Day observed on Feb 4; theme: ‘closing the care gap’
– PM kickstarts 50th Anniversary Celebrations of ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) in Hyderabad and inaugurates two research facilities
– PM inaugurates 216-foot statue of 11th century saint Sri Ramanujacharya in Hyderabad
– Fees of 50% seats in Private Medical Colleges to be at par with Government College: National Medical Commission
– Former BJP Lok Sabha MP from Telangana, Chandupatla Janga Reddy, dies at 87
– Foodgrains vessel leaves from Patna to Pandu in Assam via Bangladesh
– IIT Hyderabad to set up Suzuki Innovation Centre on its campus
– NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to take over as Norway’s central bank Governor at the end of the year
– China, Pakistan ink new CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) agreement
– 7 killed when plane on Nazca lines tour crashes in Peru
– Playback legend Lata Mangeshkar dies in Mumbai at 92; awarded Bharat Ratna in 2001 and
Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989
– DCGI grants emergency use permission to single-dose Sputnik Light COVID-19 vaccine
– Iconic tapestry of Pablo Picasso’s painting ‘Guernica’ is back at the UN in New York
– Madagascar battered by Cyclone Batsirai
– International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation observed on Feb 6
– India (178/4 in 28) defeat West Indies (176/43.5) by 6 wickets in first ODI of the three-match series at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad
– India (195/6 in 47.2) win Under-19 Cricket World Cup by defeating England (189 in 44.5) in the final played at North Sound, Antigua in West Indies
– Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launches Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 that aims to protect children and pregnant women from life-threatening diseases
– COVID-19 | Aadhaar card not mandatory on CoWIN portal for vaccination, Centre tells SC
– ASEAN-India High Level Conference on Renewable Energy being held on Feb 7-8; theme:
“Experience and Innovations for Integrated Renewables Market”
– 7 Army men missing after avalanche hits Kameng sector in Arunachal Pradesh
– Santishree Pandit appointed 1st woman Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University
– J&K becomes first UT to be integrated with national single window system
– Power Minister launches Powerthon-2022 for enabling advanced technology in power distribution
– Bangladesh signs agreement to purchase 420 broad-gauge railway wagons from India
– World Interfaith Harmony Week observed by UN from Feb 1 to 7
– NATO organising “Winter Camp” exercise in Estonia
– Senegal wins African Cup of Nations football tournament by beating Egypt in the final played in Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon
– China wins AFC Women’s Asian Cup tournament by defeating South Korea 3-2 in the final played in Mumbai; AFC: Asian Football Confederation
– Tata Open Maharashtra tennis tournament in Pune: Portugal’s Joao Sousa wins men’s singles title; India’s Rohan Bopanna & Ramkumar Ramanathan win men’s doubles
– Centre issues new media accreditation guidelines for journalists
– Railway Protection Force launches nationwide “Operation AAHT” to curb human trafficking
– BARC (Broadcast Audience Research Council) to resume news channels’ ratings after 17 months
– EAM S Jaishankar meets Sri Lankan Foreign Minister GL Peiris in Delhi, discusses energy security, fishermen issue
– 7 soldiers trapped in avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh found dead: Army
– Praveen Kumar Sobti, Bheem in BR Chopra’s ‘Mahabharat’ TV series, dies at 74
– AIM (Atal Innovation Mission), NITI Aayog, and USAID collaborates under SAMRIDH (Sustainable Access to Markets and Resources for Innovative Delivery of Healthcare) initiative
– ICMR got ₹171.74 crore in royalty from Bharat Biotech from sales of COVID vaccine Covaxin
– PM CARES Fund got ₹10,990 crore since its inception in March 2020 until March 2021; spent 3,976 crore during 2020-21
– RBI extends restrictions on Karnataka’s Millath Co-Operative Bank till May 7
– US President Joe Biden approves support deal with Taiwan for Patriot missiles
– Atal Tunnel recognised as ‘Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 feet’ by World Book of Records; connects Manali to the Lahaul-Spiti Valley
– 4,844 foreigners granted Indian citizenship in past 5 years under Citizenship Act 1955
– India received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows worth USD 339.55 billion in last 5 years
– PSU THDC India Limited (THDCIL) signs agreement to set up 10,000MW solar projects in Rajasthan
– EU unveils plan to quadruple the supply of semiconductors in Europe by 2030; reduce dependence on Asia
– Scientists in Britain smash fusion energy record; generated 59 megajoules of sustained energy
during an experiment in December
– India to help Sri Lanka implement a ‘Unitary Digital Identity framework’ modelled on the Aadhaar card
– IPL 2022: Ahmedabad IPL franchise to be called ‘Gujarat Titans’
– No religious symbols allowed for students in school and college premises: Karnataka High Court
– India has about 21 judges per million people: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju
– 257 police stations in the country don’t have vehicles; 638 without phones: Parliamentary
Committee Report
– 4th India-UK Home Affairs Dialogue held in virtual mode
– RBI keeps rates unchanged; FY23 GDP growth seen at 7.8%
– Govt. bans import of drones except for R&D, defence and security purposes
– Petroleum: 23 refineries working in country with total refining capacity of 249.22 million metric tons per annum
– Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his Australian counterpart Dan Tehan held discussions on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) in New Delhi
– RailTel bags ICAI award for excellence in financial reporting for the year 2020-21 in Public Sector Entities Category
– World Pulses Day observed on Feb 10; theme: “Pulses to empower youth in achieving sustainable agrifood systems”
– Cricket: India (237/9 in 50) beat West Indies (193/10 in 46) by 44 runs in second ODI in
Ahmedabad; take 2-0 lead in three match series
– Chairman of Supreme Court panel on Char Dham project Ravi Chopra resigns
– Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog & UNDP India launch Community Innovator Fellowship
– President inaugurates New Darbar Hall at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai
– Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurates 14.5 km long Rail-cum-Road-bridge over Ganga River approach project on NH 333B in Munger, Bihar at a cost of Rs.696 crore
– IRCTC to resume cooked food service on all trains from Feb 14
– One Ocean Summit being held at Brittany, France on Feb 9-11 to mobilise the international
community for preserving and supporting a healthy and sustainable ocean
– 4th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Melbourne; Foreign Ministers of Australia, India and Japan and the Secretary of State of US participated
– NASA selects two missions — the Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and HelioSwarm — to help better understand earth-sun environment
– Luc Montagnier, who identified virus behind AIDS, dies at 89 in France; won 2008 Nobel Prize in medicine with colleague Francoise Barr-Sinoussi
– Norway tops 2021 Democracy Index of 167 countries released by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU); India 46th
– International Day of Women and Girls in Science observed by UN on Feb 11
– Burkina Faso; Coup leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba declared new President
– India (265 in 50 overs) beat West Indies (169 in 37.1) by 96 runs in 3rd ODI at Ahmedabad; sweep three-match series 3-0
– Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar launches “SMILE” (Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) scheme to rehabilitate beggars
– Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) & Indian Navy seize 760 kilograms of narcotics in Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast
– Andhra Pradesh: 2 lakh kg of cannabis destroyed under operation ‘Parivarthan’
– FM Sitharaman launches first colour souvenir coin on ‘Panchtantra’ on the foundation day of
SPMCIL (Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited)
– Rahul Bajaj, chairman emeritus of Bajaj Auto, dies at 83; awarded Padma Bhushan in 2001, served as Rajya Sabha MP
– Debashis Mitra elected ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) President for 2022-23 term
– CBI books Gujarat-based ABG Shipyard Limited, others for ‘causing ₹22,842-cr. loss’ to banks; is the biggest–ever case of bank fraud registered by the agency
– Govt scraps requirement of drone pilot licence
– India signs MoU to hand over wheat to United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) in
Kandahar, Afghanistan
– EAM S. Jaishankar holds talks with Australian counterpart Marise Payne in Melbourne
– Australia announces ‘Maitri’ Scholars Program to support Indian students in its universities
– NASA unveils first images from James Webb Space Telescope; was launched on December 25, 2021
– US: President Joe Biden frees $7 billion in Afghan assets for relief, 9/11 victims
– Centre approves financial outlay of Rs 26,275 cr for modernisation of police forces from 2021-22 to 2025-26
– LIC files Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI seeking approval for its IPO; to sell 5% stake for Rs 63,000 crore
– Germany: President Frank-Walter Steinmeier re-elected for another term by a special assembly made up of the members of parliament’s lower house and representatives of 16 states
– World Radio Day is celebrated on Feb 13
– ISRO’s PSLV-C52 rocket places earth observation satellite EOS-04 and two small satellites into orbit following launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (AP)
– Commander of the Royal Navy of Oman, Rear Admiral Saif Bin Nasser Bin Mohsin Al Rahbi, arrives on a goodwill visit
– Government bans 54 Chinese Apps posing threat to national security
– Centre reduces agri-cess for crude palm oil from 7.5% to 5% to provide further relief to consumers
– Retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), rises to 6.01% in January
– Wholesale price-based inflation declines to 12.96% in January
– Mindtree founders — Sushmita & Subroto Bagchi and Radha & NS Parthasarathy — make Rs 425 crore donation to IISc, Bengaluru to help build medical school & 800-bed multi-speciality hospital
– Ilker Ayci, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, named new CEO & MD of Air India
– Sandeep Bakhshi, MD & CEO of ICICI Bank, named Business Standard Banker of the Year 2020-21
Every year, the World Leprosy Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of January. This year, the day was celebrated on January 30, 2022. It is marked by the World Health Organization and also by several other international organizations. The day aims to create awareness about the disease. It calls to end leprosy related discrimination.
In 2022, the WHO launched the “United in Dignity” campaign to honour the people suffering from the disease. The campaign will share empowering stories and also will advocate mental well being.
In India, the World Leprosy Day is celebrated on January 30. It is celebrated as the Anti – Leprosy Day in India. This is to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhiji. Gandhiji had compassion towards the people affected by leprosy throughout his life.
Leprosy is also called Hansen disease. It is caused by bacterial infection. It is caused by the bacteria called Mycobacterium Leprae. It is a rod shaped bacteria. Leprosy is one of the oldest diseases and has still not been eradicated. The first occurrence of leprosy was reported as 600 BC. It has been mentioned in the oldest civilisations of the world such as India, Egypt and China.
Leprosy is air borne. It affects peripheral nerves, skin, and respiratory tract. It takes three to five years for the symptoms to appear. If not treated on time, leprosy leads to disfigurement, disability and permanent nerve damage.
In 1955, the National Leprosy Control Programme was started.
In 1993 – 93, the World Bank supported National Leprosy Elimination Project.
National Leprosy Eradication Programme: It aimed to reduce the leprosy levels to less than one per 10,000 at national level by 2005.
In 2019, Lok Sabha passed a bill on leprosy. The bill sought to remove leprosy as a ground for
divorce.
During the second ADGMIN, India and ASEAN countries have approved the India – ASEAN Digital Work Plan.
ADGMIN is ASEAN Digital Ministers meet. The meet was held virtually.
About the plan
Under the plan, the countries will share their knowledge in the emerging areas of digital technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things, cyber forensics and advanced Satellite communication.
They will work together and develop technologies to fight against internet hacking, mobile phone stealing. Also, they will formulate plans to combat the wrong anti – social use of stolen mobile phones.
What is ADGMIN?
It is an annual meeting. The meeting is attended by the dialogue partners such as US, UK, Russia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Japan, EU, China, Canada and Australia. During the 2022 ADGMIN meeting, the countries discussed about strategies to strengthen digital cooperation.
ASEAN
The ASEAN countries are Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines.
Significance
The plan will help to increase the engagement between the citizens and the state. Also, the plan will use Information and Communication technologies to promote human rights, free speech, and free flow of information. It will expand the opportunities of decision making processes. The plan will transform the lives of people in rural areas.
India – ASEAN
ASEAN is the main pillar of Act East Policy of India. India and ASEAN have five years of strategic partnership, 25 years of dialogue partnership and 15 years of summit level interaction.
Strategic Partnership: Here the countries will share resources, knowledge and expertise in different sectors. Mainly in defence, health, education, etc.
Dialogue partner: A country that receives consultative membership. The country has common interest with the group. It participates in conferences conducted by the group. Sectoral dialogue partners can participate only in few areas such as trading, taxation, IPR, etc. A full dialogue partner can participate in all areas.
Tahiti Pristine Coral reef
The scientists have recently discovered a coral reef along the coast of Tahiti. The reef is two miles long and  is unaffected by anthropogenic activities and climate change.
The coral reef was discovered during a dive expedition. The expedition was supported by UNESCO. The corals discovered were six feet in diameter. The scientists have witnessed coral spawning in the island.
Corals found in Mesophotic zone
The coral reefs were discovered at a depth of 100 feet to 210 feet. This is a bit deeper. That is, the corals were found in the mesophotic zone. These are the deepest zones till which the sunlight can penetrate. This depth protects the corals from human activities.
In 2019, the entire French Coral Polynesia was affected by coral bleaching. The coral bleaching occurred due to climate change and global warming. However, this new coral reef was not affected by the 2019 coral bleaching. This is mainly due to its depth.
What is coral bleaching?
The corals are marine invertebrates. They hold microscopic algae are zooxanthellae. The algae provides food for the corals and the corals provide accommodation to the algae. They are symbiotic. Due to global warming and increase in sea temperature, the corals find it difficult to hold the algae. They release them.
The corals get their colours from these algae. When the algae is released they become colourless. This is called coral bleaching. With this, the corals die as they do not get food.
What is Coral spawning witnessed in the reef?
Coral spawning is a natural phenomenon. During coral spawning, multiple species of corals release their eggs and sperms. They float to the surface of the ocean, fertilise and form new larvae. The synchronisation occurs after the new moon day.
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia. It is located in the central Pacific Ocean. Tahiti was formed by volcanic activity. The island accounts to around 70% of the population of French Polynesia.
NASA Study: Water on Mars
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found that Mars had water two billion years ago. But today all the water in the planet are evaporated. This was confirmed by MRO with the help of salt deposits on the surface of the planet.
What did MRO find?
The MRO found that water flowed in the planet very recently. This raises the question, how long microbial life would have survived in the planet.
The Odyssey of NASA found traces of sodium chloride that spread tens to hundreds of square
kilometre. This was discovered in 2001. Later salt minerals were found in 2008.
How did MRO discover water?
The MRO used CRISM to map the salts in the southern hemisphere of the planet. CRISM is Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer. Mars has many craters. MRO used these craters to date the terrains. If the craters were lesser in number, then the terrain was younger.
The MRO found salt deposits along the shallow depressions of the volcanic plains. These deposits were less than three metres deep. They were formed recently, that is, 2.3 billion years ago.
The closest analog to the discovery made is Antarctica. When snow melts in Antarctica, lakes are formed. Similarly when the water in the mars craters evaporated, the salt was left behind.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
The orbiter was launched to study the climate and geology of mars.
In 2019, MRO discovered largest water reservoirs in Mars. The discovery was made by
The six major instruments of MRO are as follows:
HiRISE: High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment: It is a camera. It is used to observe
craters, canyons and layered deposits
CTX: Context Camera: It provides wide angle view
MARCI: Mars Color Imager: Monitors clouds and dust storms. It is a weather camera
MCS: Mars climate Sounder: It detects water vapour concentrations, dust and temperature
variations
SHARAD: Shallow Radar
Sergio Mattarella – Italy’s President for 2nd term
Italian President Sergio Mattarella was again elected for second term, during a joint session of Parliament and eighth round of voting.
Key Points
Mattarella was re-elected with a broad majority. He got 759 votes in favour out of 983 lawmakers and regional representatives.
His candidacy emerged prominently at the end of a tense week, in which the center-left and the
center-right political blocs failed to agree on different common candidature.
Thus, seven rounds of voting were held. All the rounds delivered inconclusive results and exposed deep fractures within both coalitions.
Background
The re-election of President in Italy is rare. Till date, only Giorgio Napolitano, predecessor of Mattarella, had served a second term. He served only for less than two years.
2022 Italian presidential election
The 2022 Italian presidential election was concluded between January 24 to January 29, 2022 in Rome. The president was elected by a joint session of Italian Parliament and regional representatives. Election process
was extended over multiple days. The process culminated the incumbent president Sergio Mattarella for a second term. He received 759 votes on the eighth ballot, making it the second most votes ever received by a Presidential candidate, after Sandro Pertini in 1978.
Second term of Sergio Mattarella
Sergio Mattarella had ruled out a second term, initially. He agreed to serve a second term on January 29, following the request of most party leaders and prime minister of Italy (Mario Draghi). He had already received significant and growing support previously, in several rounds of voting. He received 125 votes on the third ballot, 166 votes on the fourth, 336 votes on the sixth while 387 votes on the seventh ballot. It was the highest number of ballots since 1992, among Italian presidential elections. In 1992, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro was elected on the 16th ballot.

HERMES mission is a four-instrument suite, which will be mounted outside NASA’s Moon-orbiting Gateway.
The review, called Key Decision Point C, evaluated the preliminary design and program plan of the mission, in a bid to achieve launch by its target launch readiness date of November 2024.
With the successful review, the mission now moves into Phase C, which includes final design of
HERMES mission.
About HERMES Mission
HERMES Mission will be a critical part of Artemis mission as well as NASA’s goals of creating a permanent presence on the Moon.
HERMES stands for “Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite”. It will be mounted outside the “Habitation and Logistics Outpost module” of Gateway outpost of NASA.
The Gateway Program
Gateway will be where Artemis astronauts work and live while orbiting the Moon, support scientific experiments & technology development which are applicable to lunar and future deep space human exploration.
The Gateway Program is collaborating with SMD on the HERMES payload.
This partnership will enable HERMES in successfully achieving science objectives from the cislunar viewing location of the Gateway spacecraft.
Purpose of HERMES Mission
The HERMES Mission will help in monitoring space weather and fluctuating conditions in space driven by the Sun. Space weather comprise of:
1. Continuous stream of particles and magnetic fields, called as solar wind.
2. Blasts of billion-ton gas clouds, called as coronal mass ejections.
3. Flashes of ultra-bright light from solar flares and
4. Disturbances each of these create in near-Earth environment.
Some of these space weather events pose dangers to astronauts and robotic missions. HERMES will study these weather events, in an especially variable environment. HERMES will be flooded by magnetic fields and particles, which have interacted with Earth.
Draft Framework for Higher Education qualification
The University Grants Commission, UGC recently released the draft Framework for Higher Education qualification. It is a part of the National Education Policy 2020. All the higher education institutes in the country are to be brought under this new framework.
Why the new framework?
To facilitate transparency
To create an internationally comparable framework
To address the increasing size of the higher education system needs in the country
What does the framework do?
It will not promote a curriculum or a common syllabus for all the higher education students. Rather, the framework will make sure all the education systems in the country are providing quality education. It will create a performance bench mark for the higher education system in the country.
What does the framework say?
The framework has created different levels to assess the learning outcome of the students. Level 5
represents the learning outcome of a first year student in a UG programme. Level 10 represents learning
outcome of a student in doctoral level programme.
At every level, the students are assessed based on the following:
Decision making abilities
Application of knowledge and skills
Cognitive and technical skills
Employment ready skills
Entrepreneurship skills
Knowledge and understanding
How are credits fixed in the framework?
The framework has fixed the credits of the programme based on the National Education Policy 2020.
Different level of credits have been fixed for UG, PG and doctoral programmes. The students willing to leave a UG programme with a certificate should have at least 40 credits. Students leaving the programme with a diploma after two years need to have 80 credits. The students will to leave after three years should have 120 credits and thos leaving with honours after four years of UG should have 160 credits. Credit is one hour of teaching or two hours of field work or practical work.
Union Budget 2022-23-Highlights
On February 1, 2022, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman presented the Union budget 2022-23.
The budget focuses on macro economic growth, energy transition, promoting digital economy, climate action, tech enabled development, crowding in private investment. Here are the highlights of the budget.
Digital Rupee is to be issued using block chain technologies
Issuance of E – Passports
National Tele Mental Health programme is to be launched
Zero Fossil Fuel policy to be introduced
Special Economic Zones Act to be replaced with a new act
Sovereign green bonds are to be issued
India growth: Estimated at 9.2%
Scheme for oil seeds to be launched: To increase domestic oil production and reduce imports
PM Gati Shakti: Rs 20,000 crores
The PM Gati Shakti Master plan is to be expanded to 25,000 km. 100 PM Gati Shakti Cargo terminals are to be developed in next three years.
Loans for states
The states are to be provided with Rs 1 lakh crores of financial assistance. These are interest free loans.
The states can use this for PM Gati Shakti related investments and other productive investments.
Multi modal logistics parks
To be opened in four locations through PPP model
PM eVIDYA
It is One class One TV channel programme. It is to be expanded from 12 to 200 TV channels. This is to educate in regional languages from Class 1 to Class 12.
For MSP: Rs 2.37 lakh crores
The minister has allocated Rs 2.37 lakh crores for direct payment of minimum support price. Procurement of wheat in 2021-22 was 1208 lakh tonnes and procurement of paddy was 163 lakh tonnes.
PLI
Rs 19,500 allocated for PLI for manufacturing of high – energy efficiency module. This is to help India achieve its solar energy target of 280 GW by 2030.
Railways 400 new Vande Bharat trains are to be launched
Credit guarantee
CGTMSE: Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small enterprises is to be revamped. Additional credit of Rs 2 lakh crores
Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme: Extended till March 2023
Housing
PM Awas Yojana: 60,000 houses to be identified as beneficiaries. Rs 48,000 crores allocated
Financial Inclusion 1.5 lakh post offices will come on core banking system
Ken Betwa Linking Project
Rs 1,400 crores allocated. The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 44,605 crores. This is to benefit 9 hectare farmland, supply drinking water to 62 lakh people, generate 103 MW of hydro power and 27 MW of solar power.
Tax
The central and state government employees’ tax deduction limit is to be increased from 10% to 14%.
This will help the social security benefits.
The transfer of virtual digital asset shall be taxed at 30%
Corporate surcharge reduced from 12% to 7%
Customs duty on diamonds reduced to 5%
Long Term Capital Gains to be taxed at 15%
Economic Survey 2021-22- Highlights
The Economic Survey 2021-22 was tabled in Parliament on January 31, 2022 by Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Who prepared the Economic Survey?
Economic Survey 2021-22 was prepared by a team led by principal economic adviser Sanjeev Sanyal.
The survey is a single volume with separate set of statistical tables, as opposed to two volume
formats seen in previous years.
How economic survey has evolved?
In 1950s, the survey started as a less than 50-page document. Now, it is running into hundreds of pages, to provide a detailed analysis of the economy and recommend policy measures to deal with challenges.
Growth Forecast
Economic survey forecasts economy to grow 8-8.5 per cent in the fiscal year 2022-23.
In current year, economy is likely to grow at 9.2 per cent.
Agriculture & allied sectors are likely to grow by 3.9 per cent.
India’s economic growth in fiscal year 2022-23 will still be the fastest among major economies.
How will India take on challenges?
As per survey, macro-economic stability indicators highlight that, Indian economy is well placed to take on challenges in 2022-23. Indian economy is in good position because of its unique response strategy, which has been listed below:
1. Supply-Side reforms: India’s economic response to challenges caused by covid-19 pandemic has been supply-side reforms, instead of demand management.
2. Front-loaded stimulus packages: Agile policy response of India differed from waterfall strategy of introducing front-loaded stimulus packages, which were adopted by most of the countries in 2020.
3. Robust export growth and availability of fiscal space for ramping up capital spending, in a bid to support growth in fiscal year 2022-23.
Fiscal performance
Gross tax revenue during April-November 2021 has increased by 50 per cent year-on-year. On the other hand, GST mop up remained above Rs 1 lakh crore since July 2021. Revenue receipts of central government
during April-November 2021 have increased by 67.2 per cent. The corporate tax collections witnessed a growth of 90 per cent, during April-November 2021.
Financial sector
Total net profit of public sector banks (PSBs) has increased from Rs 14,688 crore during first six months of 2020-21 to Rs 31,144 crore in first half of 2021-22. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio of SCBs decreased from 7.5 per cent in 2020-21 to 6.9 per cent at end-September 2021.
Inflation
The report highlights risks from global inflation and covid-19 pandemic-related disruptions. The consumer inflation was 5.6% in December 2021, the wholesale price inflation was reported in double digits for eight months. Imported inflation was exceptionally high through coal, oil, and gold. Survey suggests that, India is in danger of breaking Reserve Bank of India’s target of 2-6% inflation.
UAE Federal Corporate Tax
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced to introduce a corporate tax from mid-2023, in a bid to diversify its income.
The financial centre of Gulf, is long known as a tax haven. It is the regional headquarters for
multinationals.
But the financial centre will start taxing business profits over 375,000 AED at 9.0 percent from June 2023.
This announcement is the latest significant move by the country, which recently switched from Friday- Saturday weekends to Saturdays and Sundays in order to align closer with global markets.
UAE Corporate Tax Regime
The corporate tax regime of UAE will be amongst most competitive worldwide. There will be a corporate tax of 9% for businesses with net annual profit over AED 375,000, and a 0% for businesses with net annual
profits of less than AED 375,000.
Will there be personal income tax?
As per ministry, there are no plans to introduce capital gains tax or personal income tax from real estate or other investments.
Diversification of income in UAE
The UAE is a major oil exporter. It is also a big player in trade, business, transport and tourism. Now, it is diversifying to reduce its dependency on crude oil. It is also facing increased competition from
neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which is the biggest oil exporter worldwide. Saudi Arabia is already pursuing its own drive for diversifying its economy and attract foreign businesses.
Significance of the corporate tax
With the introduction of corporate tax, the UAE seeks to meet international standards for tax transparency and prevent harmful tax practices.
Taxation in UAE
UAE is a federation of seven emirates, comprising of autonomous emirate and local governments. It does not have any federal income tax. Each emirate has enacted an income tax decree, however in practice, enforcement of these decrees is restricted to oil companies and foreign banks. Government had implemented value added tax (VAT) at 5% from January 1, 2018.
New Leprosy Cases during 2020-21 in India
Though India was declared “leprosy-free” in 2005, it still accounts for around 60 percent of world’s new leprosy patients.
Key Points
According to data of ‘National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP), Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Jharkhand contributed around 76 per cent of new leprosy
World Health Organization (WHO) data shows that, in 2019-20, around 114,451 new leprosy cases were detected in India. It accounted for 80 per cent of the cases in southeast Asian countries.
Annual New Case detection
National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) highlights on the basis of reports from all the states and UTs 2020-21 that; total of 65147 new leprosy cases were detected. It took annual new case detection to 4.56 per 100,000 population, as opposed to 114451 cases in 2019-20.
As of April 1, 2021, a total of 57,672 leprosy cases are on record.
Around 3,753 child cases were recorded, taking child case rate to 5.76 percent.
In India, the number of leprosy cases has witnessed a significant decline.
What is Leprosy?
Leprosy is also called as Hansen’s Disease. It is a chronic, progressive bacterial infection, caused due to bacterium called Mycobacterium Leprae. This bacterium is an acid-fast rod-shaped bacillus. This disease leaves a terrifying image in its wake of mutilation, exclusion and rejection from society. It is one of the oldest diseases in recorded history. It was well recognized in the oldest civilizations of India, China and Egypt thousands of years ago.
Infected areas Leprosy infects skin, upper respiratory tract, peripheral nerves and Lining of the nose.
How is the disease transmitted?
Leprosy is transmitted by breathing airborne droplets from affected individuals. The disease can be contacted at any age. It usually takes around 3-5 years for symptoms to appear, once the person come in contact with Leprosy causing bacteria.
National Leprosy Eradication Programme
The National Leprosy Eradication Project is supported by World Bank. Its 1st Phase was started from 1993-94. The global elimination was achieved in year 2001, following which National Leprosy Eradication Programme was launched.
NSO First revised FY21 GDP estimates
The National Statistical Office recently released the first revised GDP estimates for the fiscal year 2021.
According to the estimates, the GDP contracted by 6.6%. Earlier, the GDP had contracted by 7.3%. The contraction is mainly due to COVID pandemic and the lockdown imposed.
What do the estimates say?
The real GDP for 2020-21 is 135.58 lakh crores of rupees. The real GDP for 2019-20 is 145.16 crores.
The values were calculated based on 2011-12 prices.
Nominal GDP for the 2020-21 is 198.01 lakh crores of rupees. In 2019-20, the nominal GDP was 200.75 lakh crores. This shows the nominal GDP has contracted by 1.4%.
The Nominal GVA at basic prices reduced by 4.8%. It had grown by 6.9% in 2019-20.
The real GVA at basic prices contracted to 4.8% in 2020-21 and had grown by 3.8% in 2019-20.
Inference
The contraction of GDP in 2021 creates a less approving base for the fiscal year 2022. This is to further contract the growth to 8.8% in 2022. The NSO expects this might change in 2023 and the GDP might jump ahead.
Growth rates of different sectors
The growth rates for 2020-21 are as follows:
Primary sector: Quarrying, Mining, Fishing, agriculture and forestry: (-2.8%). Previous year, this was 1.6%.
Secondary sector: Water Supply, electricity, manufacturing, gas: -7.8%. Previous year the growth was 1.9%.
Tertiary sector: Services: -6.8%. Previous year it was -8.4%.
Income
The National Net Income for 2020-21 was 171.94 lakh crores. It was 177.94 crores in 2019-20. This says that the NNI has contracted by 2.9% in 2020-21. But in the previous year it had grown by 6%.
The per capital income at current prices for 2020-21 was Rs 1,26,855. The previous year it was Rs 1,32,115.
Real Price: It is the recent price of goods and service in the country. It is the market price. It is an adjusted price.
Nominal Price: It is an unadjusted price. It does not include inflation.
India’s Rank in Forest Area Gain
The Economic Survey released by the Department of Economic Affairs recently said that India ranks third in the world in terms of forest gain area. India has added 2,66,000 hectares of forest area every year between 2010 and 2020.
What did the survey say about forest area in India?
24% of the total geographical area of India is covered with forest. The Indian forests accounts to 2% of the forests in the world.
According to the survey, the countries with maximum forest are Brazil, Congo, Peru and Russia. 59% of total land mass of Brazil is covered with forest. It is 57% in Peru, 56% in Congo, 50% in Russia. Around ten countries contributed 66% of global forests.
Forest cover in Indian States Madhya Pradesh had the highest forest cover. The state has 11% of total forest cover in India. It was followed by Arunachal Pradesh. The state has 9% of the country’s total forest cover. Chhattisgarh has 8%, Odisha has 7% and Maharashtra has 7%.
Highest proportion of forest cover
The highest proportion of forest, that is, area covered under forest as compared to the geographical area of the state is as follows:
Mizoram: 85%
Arunachal Pradesh: 79%
Meghalaya: 76%
Manipur: 74%
Nagaland: 74%
The very dense forest cover in India has increased by 20% between 2011 and 2021. The open forest cover increased by 7%.
Criticisms
The State of Forest Report was made public this year. The environmentalists are questioning the methodology adopted in calculating the forest cover. According to them, the survey includes plantations and orchards outside the forest areas. To this, the union government replied that the definition of “FOREST” in India is in line with the global definitions.
Forest Definition
The Indian Forest Act, 1927 defines forest as land covered with trees, brushwood and jungle. No proper definition for forest exists in the Indian legal system. In 1996, Supreme Court defined forest as that region that is recorded as forest in government record. These two definitions are widely used in the country. It is difficult to frame a definition of forest in India as the country has 16 different types of forests!
World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day
The World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day is celebrated on January 30. The day is marked to create awareness on the neglected tropical diseases.
Theme In 2022, the World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day is celebrated under the following theme:
Achieving health equity to end the neglect of poverty related diseases
History
The first World Neglected Tropical Diseases was marked in 2020. The proposal to celebrate the day was made by UAE (United Arab Emirates). The proposal was made at the 74th World Health Assembly.
To commemorate the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases. It was launched in January 30, 2012. It was the first road map on Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Significance
The day calls to end the suffering from 20 diseases. These diseases are caused by bacteria, virus, fungi and other toxins. The 20 neglected tropical diseases are Buruli ulcer, Chagas disease, Dengue and Chickengunya, Dracunculiasis, Yaws, Foodborne trematodiases, human African trypanosomiasis, Leishmaniasis, Leprosy, Lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis. Rabies, schistosomiasis, soil – transmitted helminthiasis, taeniasis or cysticercosis, trachoma, chromoblastomycosis, scabies, snakebite envenoming.
Why are they grouped as neglected diseases?
Because their ill effects are under estimated. Also, they are asymptomatic. They have long incubation periods. They are overlooked because they mainly affect the developing world largely. These diseases receive very less funding. Thus research activities in the treating these diseases is less.
Road Map for Neglected Topical Diseases
This road map was prepared by the World Health Organization. It is to be implemented between 2021 and 2030. The road map is as follows:
To measure the impact of the diseases
To shift towards collaborative work from disease specific planning
To shift towards programmes that are country owned and country financed
Need
The Neglected Tropical Diseases is killing more than one billion people every year. These disease are preventable and curable. The inter relationship between the diseases and poverty is creating devastating social and economic consequences.

PR Sreejesh was part of men’s team, which claimed a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
He became only the second Indian to receive this award.
He is the first man and second hockey player to win it. He followed the footsteps of compatriot and India women’s captain Rani.
Captain Rani had won the award in 2019.
Total votes to Sreejesh
The global fan vote was conducted on “TheWorldGames.org”. He finished well clear at the top out of 24- strong nomination list. His won 1,27,647 votes, it was almost twice the number of votes to second-placed athlete, Albert Gines Lopez from Spain. Lopez won 67,428 votes.
The World Games
World Games is a multi-sport event, which is organised every four years by “International World Games Association” in association with the support of International Olympic Committee. The games are organised for over a period of 11 days, comprising of more than 30 sports on the programme.
When was Hockey featured?
Indoor Hockey was featured at the World Games, as an invitational sport in 2005. It took place in Duisburg, Germany. Hockey will also mark its presence with sports demonstrations during The World Games 2022, which is scheduled to take place in Birmingham, the USA from July 7 to July 17, 2022.
Who is Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh?
Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian professional field hockey player. He plays as a goalkeeper.
He played a significant role in Indian national team’s bronze medal win at 2020 Summer Olympics men’s field hockey tournament. He won FIH Player of the Year Awards in 2020–21, for best male goalkeeper.
Lunar New Year 2022: Year of Tiger
As per Chinese Zodiac, also called as “Shengxiao” we are assigned a powerful animal called Shuxiang, on the basis of year we are born.
Highlights
Shuxiang is assigned on the basis of Luni-Solar calendar, which is having a close tie with Chinese Philosophy, including:
1. Theory of three harmonies- heaven, earth, and water.
2. Principles of Yin and Yang.
3. Wuxing: five phases of the flow of elements – water, wood, fire, earth, and metal.
4. Ten Heavenly Stems – Yin and Yang qualities of the Wuxing.
5. Twelve Earthly Branches – The twelve Chinese animal signs.
History of Chinese Zodiac
Earliest records of Chinese astrology date back to the Zhou Dynasty during 1046 – 256 BCE. however, it flourished during Han Dynasty from 002 BCE to 002 AD. It was formalised and aligned with principles of Confucianism, traditional alchemical practices and Chinese Medicine.
Chinese Zodiac 2022: The Year of Tiger
Tigers are extremely competitive animals. They are known for their courage and ambitions. The Tiger year is all about making big changes, in world within us and world around us. Tiger years bring in an overall increase in enthusiasm.
Chinese New Year is also called as Lunar New Year. It is the festival celebrating the beginning of new year on traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, this festival is commonly called as Spring Festival. The festival marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring season. Its observances traditionally take place from New Year’s Eve. First day of Chinese New Year starts on new moon, appearing between January 21 and February 20.
Two New Bird Species from Borneo
The new bird species, Cyornis and Zosterops, were discovered recently from Borneo. These species were inhabiting Meratus Mountains in south-eastern Borneo.
About Cyornis Genus
Cyornis is a genus of passerine birds, belonging to Old-World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.
This genus comprises of 25 currently recognized species. It also includes some species which were previously placed in Rhinomyias genus.
It is distributed across southern Asia, from Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Characteristics of Cyornis Flycatchers
Most of Cyornis flycatchers are sexually dimorphic in plumage. Males are blue above and blue & white or orange & white below. However, few species are sexually monomorphic and lack bright colours. This species is most closely related to Dayak blue flycatcher, but morphologically different due to lighter blue on the upper parts and less reddish & more whitish on the underparts.
Zosterops is a genus of passerine birds. It comprises of typical white-eyes in family Zosteropidae. This genus comprises of more than 100 species. These species are distributed across Afrotropical, Australasian and Indomalayan, realms. These birds are supreme island colonizers. This is why, so many different whiteeye species have evolved rapidly.
Feature of Zosterops species
Most characteristic feature of Zosterops white-eyes is its conspicuous white feather ring around eye.
However, some species lack it. This species is most closely related to lemon-bellied white-eye, but different due to olive upperparts and darker underparts.
Species found in Borneo
The avian biodiversity and endemism of Borneo is significant. Around 50 endemic species have been described from the island under taxonomic arrangements. Many of these are montane specialists, while around 27 species are endemic to Borneo’s highlands.
Neuroterus valhalla: New Wasp species
The Rice University researchers recently discovered a new wasp species called Neuroterus Valhalla. It is a weird species that spends 11 months of a year locked in a crypt. It is just a millimetre long.
About N.valhalla
It was discovered outside a student pub Valhalla. And thus named after it. The species was collected from a oak tree in 2018. The scientists are yet to find the male member of the species. The females lay eggs in trees. It is a cynipid gall wasp. It uses chemicals to produce crypts or galls around its eggs. Around 1,300 gall wasps are known to human. They are distributed in Europe and North America. The reproduction of gall wasps is partly parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis is asexual reproduction where growth and reproduction occur without the fertilization of sperm.
About the Crypt
The females of the N.valhalla lay a chemical substance along with the eggs. This chemical substance coax (arrange itself into something) with the tree to form the crypt or gall. The gall provides shelter to the egg.
Life in the gall
The wasp almost spends its entire lifetime in the gall. After emerging from the gall, the wasp lives only for three or four days. They mate within these four days, lay eggs. They don’t and do nothing. Their only purpose is reproduction.
About the eggs
The N.valhalla wasp lays eggs twice a year. Also, only alternating generations lay eggs. These wasps lay eggs on flowers. Some trees flower only once a year. In such cases, they lay their eggs on the new stem buds. When they hatch and come out in the wrong time and if there are no flowers (or suitable places to lay eggs), they just die.
Habitat
So far, these wasps have been found in oak trees. They are spread in the US and in Mexico. Climate change and deforestation is threatening the species.
New Study on Tree Species
Around hundred scientists from different parts of the world came together and studied about different tree species. They found that there are 73,000 tree species in the world. Of these only 64,000 is known to humans.
What did the scientists find?
43% of the tree species in the world occur in South America. 22% occur in Eurasia. 16% occur in Africa.
40% of the undiscovered tree species are in South America. Also, South America has the largest number of rare tree species. It has 8,200 rare tree species. South America has the highest number of endemic species.
Endemics species are those tree species that occurs only in that region and nowhere else in the world.
Most of the undiscovered tree species in South America were found in tropical and sub-tropical moist forest of the continent. These forests are in the Amazon River basin. Some of these rare species are also found in Andean forest at altitudes between 1000 metres and 3500 metres.
How were the tree species counted?
The Global Forest Biodiversity Initiative (GFBI) data base was used. The GFBI has records of 38 million trees. This includes more than 28,192 species. The scientists also used the data from TREE CHANGE. The combined data sets provided information about 64,100 tree species.
Significance
The study will help in establishing a quantitative benchmark. It could contribute to forest conservation efforts. Also, the study will help in future discovery of new trees.
Inference
The forests of South America should be protected largely. The forests here are threatened by fires, climate change, deforestation and other anthropogenic activities.
GFBI
It is a multi – stakeholder research collaboration. It works around forest sciences. It is platform for international forest education and research dissemination.
Global Center of Excellence in Affordable and Clean Energy
The Global Center of Excellence in Affordable and Clean energy was recently launched at IIT Dharwad. The center will enhance the research in affordable and clean energy.
About the Center
The center will create, incubate technologies, physical infrastructure. Also, it will create clean energy solutions. The solutions will target on livelihoods of rural communities.
The center is to be supported by CSR funds. CSR is Corporate Social Responsibility. The CSR funds are to come from HHSIF. HHSIF is Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation. HHSIF provides funds in five main areas such as family safety and security, science and math education, housing and shelter,
sustainability and humanitarian relief.
Role of HHSIF
HHSIF will help in procuring, installing required equipment. Also, it will commission the equipment used to set up the center. It will also look after the infrastructural requirement of Research and Development and Fabrication involved.
What is the plan?
IIT Dharwad and HHSIF will jointly develop a platform. The platform will build interactive data bases related to energy challenges in the country.
The center will analyze the challenges and choose the appropriate and valid ones. It will then take these challenged through robust stages of innovation cycle. This includes research, prototyping, testing, piloting and building channels.
The center will also focus on designing, incubating and creating energy efficient engineering affordable products. These products will be powered by renewable energy. The product will mainly enhance lives of rural communities.
The IIT Dharwad is to test the products within the 200 km radius of its campus. The center will include startups and innovators interested to work along. It will provide the required skills required to manage the ACE technologies.
Significance
The center will help India achieve its goal of meeting 50% of the country’s energy requirement from renewables by 2030. It will help to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7. The SDG 7 focuses on providing affordable and clean energy.
Perovskite Solar cells
The pervoskite solar cells are those cells with perovskite structured compound. It is an organic or inorganic tin based material. Some of the other perovskite materials are methylammonium lead halides and cesium lead halide. They are inexpensive and simple to manufacture.
An Australian – Chinese research team has found perovskite solar cell with conversion efficiency of 22.6%.
The fill factor of the cell is 85.3%. The device was fabricated using nitrogen doped titanium oxide. With this the scientists have increased the charge transport between perovskite absorber and the electrodes.
The efficiency of solar cells have increased from 3.8% in 2009 to 25.7% in 2022 due to these materials.
They are mainly known for their cheap production costs. This is mainly due to their easy fabrication.
Features
The absorption coefficient of perovskite materials is high. This helps in the formation of ultra thin films.
The perovskite films are 500 nm thin. In such minute thickness, the material is capable of absorbing the entire visible spectrum. These features help in building light weight, high efficiency, low cost and thin solar modules.
Applications
The perovskite solar cells are mainly used to power Internet of Things and wireless electronics. It also helps to mitigate climate change.
Structure of Perovskite
It is derived from ABX3 crystal structure. Here A is a cation and B is an anion. X is a halogen. The bandgap of the structure is 2.3 eV. Band gap is the energy required to transit an electron from the valence band to conduction band. Lesser the band gap, higher the electrical conductivity.
Toxicity
Some of the perovskite solar cells are made of lead. This strains the public acceptance of the technology.
The WHO says that lead level of 5 micro gram per deci litre of lead is safe for humans. Scientists are working to replace lead halides with tin halides. Germanium halide perovskites are unsuccessful mainly because of very low efficiencies.
What is Project Sadbhawana?
Sadbhawana means goodwill. The Operation Sadbhawana was launched by the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir. The main aim of the project was to help people affected by terrorism in the region. The operations mainly targets to address the aspirations of the people.
Why was the project launched?
The terrorist organizations in the Kashmir region are trying to subvert government officials and target the public symbols and services. The organizations aim to alienate the local population by this. Once alienated
The project mainly aims to integrate the locals into the national mainstream. It works to reduce the proxy wars fought by Pakistan in the region. Proxy wars are conflicts fought by the terrorist groups on behalf of the government. Pakistan government pays money and supplies ammunitions to the terrorist groups to fight such wars in the Kashmir region.
What does the project do?
It mainly focuses on five areas. They are infrastructure development, education, community development projects, women and youth empowerment, health and sanitation. The project will neutralise the anti India propaganda sponsored by Pakistan in Kashmir.
Education
So far, the Indian army has established 46 goodwill schools under the operation. 1900 schools were renovated. Indian Army has helped in infrastructural development, renovation and modification. All these schools now operate under the Jammu and Kashmir State Educational board. This also includes two boarding schools namely Pahalgam and Rajouri. They are affiliated to CBSE.
Infrastructural Development
Under the operation, the Indian Army has augmented water supply. Also, it has increased road connectivity.
Health Care
Medical centres were created in remote and inaccessible areas. More than 283 medical camps were conducted since the launch of the operation. Mobile medical teams were formed. They are now dispensing medical aid at the door steps of the people.
Women and youth empowerment
Skill development trainings were provided. This includes training in knitting, operating the computers, candle making, tailoring, bag making, basket weaving, fashion designing, horticulture. Youth Guidance employment nodes were created.
Tours National integrations tours were organized under the project. It aims to integrate opinion makers and students from all the regions.
SpaceX Italian Earth-observation satellite
On February 1, 2022, SpaceX launched the Italian Earth-observation satellite, Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation FM2 (CSG-2) after scrubbing the scheduled lift-off for fourth consecutive time. It was launched from a station in Florida, US.
Latest call-off was because of presence of a ship in “no-go zone” at Cape Canaveral before the
launch.
SpaceX scrubbed the launch of CSG-2 for fourth consecutive day.
In earlier stances, the launch was called off due to bad weather.
About CSG-2 Constellation of Small Satellites for Mediterranean basin Observation (COSMO)-CSG-2 is the follow-on mission of COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) satellite. This satellite will monitor the Earth and provide data risk management, forest & environment protection, cartography, natural resources exploration, defence & security, land management, food & agriculture management and maritime surveillance. The system comprises of two satellites, that have been designed to observe Earth using synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
Two Generations of the satellite
The satellite comprises of two generations. Each generation is a constellation of several satellites. First generation was having four identical satellites and were launched between 2007 and 2010. All of these satellites are still operational. The second generation contains two enhanced SAR satellites. First satellite was launched in 2019 while, the second is planned to be launched in 2022. CSG-2 will operate in a sunsynchronous polar orbit, at an altitude of 620 kms.
Who have developed the satellite?
SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) satellite has been developed by Italian Ministry of Defence and Italian Ministry of Education, Universities & Scientific Research.
Launch Vehicle- SpaceX will launch the satellites, onboard Falcon-9 rocket which is the reusable workhorse developed by SpaceX. Falcon-9 will deliver the satellites into orbit around Earth. Falcon 9 is the first stage booster to support this mission. Previously, it supported the launch of STP-2 and Arabsat-6A. Falcon-9 is the first orbital-class reusable rocket of world and has so far conducted 136 launches.
CSG-1
The CSG-1 was launched in December 2019, onboard Soyuz rocket from French Guiana. It is currently operating at an altitude of 620 kms, in a sun-synchronous polar orbit.
Portugal PM H. E. Antonio Costa
On January 30, 2022, Portugal’s ruling centre-left Socialists won in snap general election, by an outright parliamentary majority. The party secured a strong mandate for Prime Minister, Antonio Costa.
The result came as a surprise after Socialists had lost most of their advantage in opinion polls.
Now, Portugal will have a stable government to look after the application of EU pandemic recovery funds.
Socialists were confirmed as winning 117 seats out of 230-seat parliament. In 2019 they won 108 seats. Background Sunday’s election was triggered in December 2021, following a long-running deal between Costa’s minority government and its allies in Portuguese Communist party. The Left Bloc broke down during negotiations on 2022 budget.
Antonio Luis Santos da Costa GCIH
Antonio Costa is a Portuguese lawyer and politician. He is serving as the 119th and current Prime Minister of Portugal. He was elected on November 26, 2015. He presided over XXI (2015–2019) and XXII
Constitutional Governments (2019–present). In between 1995 to 1997, he was the Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs during 1997-1999, Minister of Justice during 1999-2002, Minister of Internal Administration during 2005-2007, and Mayor of Lisbon during 2007-2015. In 2014, he was elected as Secretary General of Socialist Party.
Prime Minister of Portugal
Prime Minister of Portugal is the current title of head of government in Portugal. As head of government, he coordinates the actions of ministers, represents the Government to other bodies of state and is accountable to Parliament. He keeps the President informed. He can hold the position of head of government along with the portfolio of one or more ministries. There is no limit on the number of terms a person can hold this position.
Who appoints the Prime Minister?
Prime Minister is appointed by the President of Republic, after legislative elections.
Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala
The Hoysala Temples of Belur, Halebid and Somnath Pura in Karnataka will be nominated for World Heritage Since April 15, 2014, the ‘Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala’ are on UNESCO’s Tentative list.
The temples stand testimony to the rich cultural and historical heritage of India.
Nomination of Hoysala temples
Nomination of Hoysala Temples to UNESCO was submitted by Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO, Vishal V Sharma. Nomination was submitted to UNESCO Director of World Heritage Lazare Eloundou. After the submission of the dossier, technical scrutiny will be done. Site will be evaluated in September or October 2022 and dossier will be taken up for consideration in July or August 2023.
Protected Monuments
The Hoysala temples are protected monuments of Archaeological Survey of India.
Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala at Belur
The Chennakeshava temple is devoted to Lord Vishnu. It was at the centre of old walled town, located on the banks of Yagachi River. Its construction started in 1117 AD and completed in 103 years. Around 118
stone inscriptions have been recovered from its complex, belonging to 1117-18th century. Richly sculptured exterior of this temple includes sculptures, iconography and horizontal friezes which depict scenes from daily life, dance and music. These scenes narrate the life of Vishnu and his reincarnations. It also narrates the epics namely Ramayana, and Mahabharata.
Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala at Halebid
Hoysaleswara temple at Halebidu was built during the reign of Hoysala King, Vishnuvardhana
Hoysaleshwara, in 1121CE. It is dedicated to Shiva. It was sponsored and built by merchants and wealthy citizens of Dwarasamudra. The temple is well-known for more than 240 wall sculptures, running along the outer wall.
About Hoysala Dynasty
Hoysala dynasty existed in South Indian between 1110 A.D. and 1326 A.D. it was founded by Nripa Kama II or Sala. Its capital initially resided at Belur, but later moved to Halebidu. The dynasty ruled over parts of modern states of Mysore, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) Programme
During the Union Budget 2022-23 presentation, the finance minister Smt Nirmala Sitaraman announced that RAMP programme is to be rolled out at an estimated cost of Rs 6,000 crores. The programme is to be implemented for 5 years.
About the programme
RAMP is a post COVID resilience and recovery programme. It aims to improve the condition of MSMEs in India. The MSMEs were badly affected due to COVID pandemic and lock down. It provides better access to finance to the MSMEs.
Significance of RAMP programme
The programme will increase the productivity of MSMEs. Also, it will increase the competitiveness of MSMEs. It will revitalise the MSME sector.
Need for RAMP
40% of MSMEs in India lack access to finance. MSMEs are the backbone of Indian economy. They contribute 40% of exports of the country and 30% of its GDP.
World Bank and RAMP
In 2021, the World Bank said that the RAMP programme is to mobilize finance of 15.5 billion USD. It is to improve the performance of five lakh MSMEs. In 2020, the World Bank approved 750 million USD loan to the MSMEs in India. Later in 2021, the World Bank provided 500 million USD to boost the MSMEs in the country.
This benefitted 5 million MSMEs.
How will RAMP benefit the MSME?
It will unlock the liquidity issues. Currently, the lenders are concerned about the repayment by the borrowers. This is limiting and decreasing the flow of credit into the MSME sector. The programme will de – risk the lending from non – banking financial institutions and banks. It will strengthen small finance banks.
It will increase the funding capacity of market oriented channels. It will boost refinancing facilities of GoI.
Only 8% of MSME are served with credit flow currently. RAMP will incentivise fintech and will increase the digital lending and borrowing. This will increase the cash flow in the country.
Way Forward
The MSMEs are in the centre of economic recovery. The immediate need of the moment is to make sure the liquidity being infused into the economy reaches the MSMEs.
National Land Monetisation Corporation
According to Economic Survey, central government has set up a “National Land Monetisation Corporation”
in a bid to FastTrack the monetisation of land and non-core assets of public sector entities.
Key Facts
As of now, CPSEs have referred 3,400 acres of land and other non-core assets for monetisation.
Lands have been referred from CPSEs including MTNL, BSNL, BEML, BPCL, HMT Ltd, B&R, and Instrumentation Ltd.
Background
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in 2021-22 Budget, because desired skill set to take management responsibility and monetisation responsibility of noncore assets in government is limited. The SPV was set up to carry out monetisation of the land and non-core assets, in an efficient and prudent manner, in accordance with international best practices.
National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC)
The National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) is being set up in accordance with the Budget announcement. It is being set up as a 100 per cent Government of India owned entity. The initial authorised share capital will be Rs 5,000 crore while subscribed share capital will be of Rs 150 crore. It work as an asset manager for lands owned by central government and central public sector enterprises (CPSEs). It has the freedom to invest, lease or rent assets or monetise them based on suggestions by many sources. It is free to develop assets for commercial or residential purposes.
Asset Monetisation Drive- As per Economic Survey 2021-22, there is an aggregate monetisation potential of Rs 6 lakh crore by means of core assets of the Union government over a period of four-year, from 2021-22 to 2024-25. Top five sectors, namely roads, railways, oil & gas pipelines, power and telecom account for 83 per cent of the aggregate value.
Who is steering the monetisation?
Monetisation of core assets is steered by NITI Aayog, while monetisation of non-core assets is steered by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
India’s stance on Ukraine at UNSC
Recently, India remained absent from United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on Ukraine.
This move of India is widely read as a play to balance its ties with Moscow and Washington.
It was a procedural vote, on whether to discuss the situation in Eastern Europe.
Situation in Eastern Europe
In Eastern Europe, Russia accuses NATO of attempting to expand its membership. On the other hand, U.S.
and other NATO countries accuse Russia of amassing troops for invading Ukraine.
Russia-Ukraine issue at UNSC
United States had asked for an open meeting at the UNSC, on Russian military build-up at Ukrainian border.
But Russia sought a vote on the decision to go ahead with the open meeting. According to UNSC working methods, 9 votes were required to go ahead for the meeting. 10 countries voted in favour of an open meeting on Ukraine.
What was the result of voting?
Russia lost the vote. It won support only from China. India, Gabon and Kenya remained absent.
According to India’s Permanent Representative at UNSC, T S Tirumurti, India is interested in finding a solution that can led to immediate de-escalation of tensions, by taking into account the security interests of all countries. India’s stand is aimed at securing long term peace and stability in the region.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict
It is a major security crisis in Eurasian region, having the potential to escalate into a much broader conflict.
The conflict might lead to further deterioration of Russia’s relations with Europe and the US. The conflict also has far-reaching consequences on larger dynamic of Asian geopolitics.
Why conflict started?
Ukraine was a part of Russia, before becoming a Soviet republic. Russia and Ukraine share hundreds of years of cultural, familial and linguistic links. With the disintegration of USSR in 1991, Ukraine gained independence. Since then, Ukraine has been trying to shed Russian legacy and improve its relationship with the West. The shared heritage has been exploited for electoral and military purposes. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea. It was first time a European country annexed territory from other country since the World War II. After the Crimean annexation, Russia and Ukraine signed ceasefire agreements at Minsk. Apart from that, Russia also started a separatist movement in Donbas region of Ukraine, which is home to ethnically Russian people.

• PM Modi to host first India-Central Asia Summit virtually on January 27
• Three Navy personnel killed in explosion onboard INS Ranvir in Mumbai
• Rajasthan: BSF to conduct ‘Operation Sard Hawa’ along Pak border from Jan 23 to 28
• Eleven cities selected as the winners of the Streets for People Challenge by the Union Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
• Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry announces winners of Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge
• Cabinet approves extension of tenure of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis for three years
• Internet panel on languages ropes in Vijay Shekhar Sharma as ambassador
• Cabinet approves Scheme for grant of ex-gratia payment of difference between compound interest and simple interest for six months to borrowers in specified loan accounts
  • Synchronisation of all regional grids will help in utilizing the natural resources optimally, by transferring Power from Resource centric regions to Load centric regions. It will also lead to the establishment of vibrant Electricity market facilitating trading of power in

   

  • Power Grid is an Indian statutory corporation, working under the parent head of Ministry of Power. It is headquartered in Gurugram. The organisation engages mainly in transmission of bulk power across India. Power Grid transmits around 50% of the total power generated in

   

• Resignation of Hamdok is another blow to fragile attempts by Sudan in transitioning to democratic rule, following a popular uprising which led to the overthrow of long-term authoritarian President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
• Sudan’s army had staged a coup on October 25, 2021. This coup had placed Prime Minister Hamdok under house arrest initially. Following this, the civilian and military leaders had signed a power-sharing agreement.
  • Prime Minister Hamdok had reached to power-sharing agreement with Army in November 2021. Under the agreement, reinstated prime minister was supposed to lead the cabinet of technocrats until new elections were held. However, it was not clear that how much power the new civilian government would have. While, protesters showed distrust towards the military
  • On January 1, 2021, A special committee has submitted report to the Supreme Court on reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

   

  • In a report, the panel has suggested to implement the recommendations only from the next admission cycle and not from the ongoing
  • This is so, because sudden change will cause major disruption across educational institutes as well as create complications for authorities and
  • Special committee was created to review the eligibility criteria of 10% reservations for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in government institutes and jobs. Petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court, to challenge the income criteria for EWS quota in NEET exam, which determines admissions to medical While hearing the petition, court asked the central government on how it arrived at Rs 8 lakh income limit.
  • Earlier in December 2021, freezing of boundaries of districts, sub-districts, talukas, tehsils, police stations has been postponed till June 2022.
  • Freezing of boundary limits of administrative units is a pre-requisite to conduct the It is done at least three months prior.
  • Finalisation of administrative units call for covering all jurisdictional changes in an administrative area between two consecutive
  • As per provisional data compiled by the Registrar General of India (RGI) till June 2021, number of districts has increased from 640 in 2011 to
  • The sub-districts have increased from 5,925 in 2011 to 6,754 in 2021, census towns from 3,892 to 5,050 and statutory towns from 4,041 to 4,657.
  • However, villages have decreased from 6,40,934 to 6,39,083, for the same
  • First phase of Census 2021, involving House listing, Housing Census and updating the NPR, was scheduled to be held from April-September, However, it was postponed indefinitely amid COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The second and main phase of the census, involving population enumeration, was scheduled to be concluded by March 5, But it could not happen since States were banned to create new administrative units from January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

   

  • NPR is a list of all the people residing in India. It includes both citizens and non-citizens. NPR was first compiled in 2010. It was updated in 2015. It has already compiled a database of 119 crore residents. NPR was to be updated along with the first phase of 2020

  This service is likely to provide connectivity between Domestic Cruise Terminal at Ferry Wharf and terminals at Belapur & Nerul.

  Government has allotted following routes to several operators:

  1. International Cruise Terminal to Elephanta
  2. Domestic Cruise Terminal (DCT) to Karanjade, Rewas,
  3. DCT to Belapur, Vashi, Nerul, Airoli, Khanderi Islands & JNPT
  4. DCT to JNPT and Navi Mumbai, will be the most significant

  Water Taxi Service is expected to be inaugurated in first week of January 2022, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Presently, there are three operators ready. Fourth operator will join after their catamaran is certified fit.

  The Gateway of India was earlier connected to Navi Mumbai and Girgaum was connected to Juhu by catamaran. But the services were shut down in 1994. Currently, there are speedboats, catamarans, and launches, running on the Mumbai-Mandwa route. Launches also connect Mumbai with Uran, Rewas, Mora, Mandwa and Elephanta Caves.

   

  Natural gas shortage in Pakistan is impacting its most important export industry and is putting more stress on its economy, which is already struggling with weak currency and high inflation. Shortfall in supply is due to the inability of energy ministry to arrange supply.

   

   

  Work on the Water Taxi Services project was accelerated after Nitin Gadkari assumed charges as Shipping Minister.

   

  The Water Taxi Service project is a joint initiative of Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), Maharashtra Maritime Board and City & Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO).

   

  Fares from DTC to Navi Mumbai will be around Rs 1200 to 1500 per passenger, while fares from DTC to JNPT will be around Rs 750. The fares are high at present. Rates will be decreased once operators get a large catamaran.

  • In December 2021, around $250 million of textiles exports were lost, when mills in Punjab were forced to shut for 15
  • Factories in Punjab province are dependent on imports of liquefied natural gas, while its domestic supply is being diverted to other
  • Pakistan has emerged as a fast-growing import market for LNG, in the backdrop of subsidence of local supply and diminishing local gas sources over the last few The competition for the fuel has increased due to global shortages. This competition is sending princes to level which Pakistan cannot afford. In Pakistan, fuel is used as an electricity feedstock and for heating and cooking. Energy crisis is worsening due to increasing cost of LNG.
  • Textile industry in Pakistan is one of its few economic bright The industry supplies products ranging from denim jeans to hats to buyers in the U.S. and Europe.
  • Its production has increased almost 6 per cent in 9 months through March This sector accounted for 60 per cent of total exports.
  • On January 2, 2022 India donated 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to Afghanistan and will further send another 500,000 doses in coming days as a part of humanitarian aid to
  • Doses were donated to the Indira Gandhi children’s hospital in
  • Vaccines were sent via a flight of Iran’s Mahan Air, since there are no direct flights between India and Afghanistan,
  • India had also sent 6 tonnes of life-saving medicines to Kabul hospital, on December 11, 2021. These medicines were routed through the World Health Organization.
  • India had also offered to provide 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan via land routes in Pakistan. However, it has been held up because of conditions provided by On December 3, Pakistan stated to allow wheat and medicines supply via Wagah land border crossing in Afghan trucks. But modalities have not yet finalised.
  • As per World Food Programme, around 98% of Afghans are starving in the country, because of a worsening economic crisis, conflict and This figure has increased by 17% since August 2021.
  • Assistant professor Subodh G of Kerala University and research scholar Vidhya Lalan have developed fifth- generation (5G) microwave
  • Development of 5G microwave absorbers could act as an effective shield against electromagnetic
  • Threat of electromagnetic pollution and radiation is inevitable because of ever-increasing quest for smarter and advanced electronic devices

   

  The new shielding material is a ‘mayenite electride’. It is chemically stable. The material has shown exceptional microwave absorption ability in high frequency region, particularly in the 5G band.

  The presence of anionic electrons provides this compound a high conductivity, which is responsible for its high electromagnetic wave attenuation.

  Apart from conductivity, mayenite electride is also highly porous and consists of a coating of graphene.

  Presence of macropores and graphene interface in this material force the electromagnetic waves to undergo reflections and subsequent absorption, repeatedly.

  The material has the property of microwave attenuation in extreme high frequency region. It highlights the potentiality of material for futuristic devices designed for 5G applications

• During the budget presentation, the finance minister Smt Nirmala Sitaraman introduced the One Nation One Registration scheme. This will increase the easing of doing business and also will improve the ease of living.
  About the scheme
  The scheme will bring upon uniform registration process throughout the country. No matter where the registration is being made, be it land registration or vehicle registration or any other registration, the same process will be followed throughout the country. Registration shall be made anywhere in the country. There will be no state barriers. It will adopt a 3C formula. The formula focuses on Central of Records, Convenience
  of Records and Collection of Records. 14 – digit unique number is to be allocate to the land. The number is to be called the “Aadhaar number of the land”. In order to implement the scheme, the Government is to link the National Generic Document Registration system with One Nation One Registration scheme.
  DILRMP
  DILRMP is Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme. Under the programme, the Government of India has so far digitised 90% of land records in the country. This has been achieved in 24 states. It was launched in 2008 as National Land Records Modernization Programme. It was recently renamed by the Modi
  government as DILRMP. Two scheme namely Strengthening of Revenue Administration and updating of land records and Computerization of Land records were merged under the scheme. The DILRMP has information about land use, parcel ownership, location boundaries, taxation, land value, encumbrances, etc. 75,000 compliances were eliminated so far. And 1,486 laws were revoked to increase ease of living.
  Benefits
  The One Nation One registration system will reduce the delay in payment. Also, it will help in achieving complete paperless end to end ebill system. This will reduce issues around buying and selling of lands. It provides real – time ownership of the lands. It will save the valuable time of the citizens. It will reduce the interface between government functionaries and citizens. Thus the system will reduce harassment.
  Two New Ramsar sites
  The Government of India recently added two new Ramsar sites. The sites were added on the World Wetlands Day. The World Wetlands Day is celebrated on February 2 all over the world. The day spreads the importance of wetlands. It is celebrated on February 2 because the Ramsar Convention was held on February 2, 1971 at Ramsar, Iran.
  What are the two sites?
  Bakhira Wild life sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh and Khijadia Bird Sanctuary in Gujarat. These are the 48th and 49th Ramsar sites of India. Earlier, the 47th Ramsar site was Haiderpur Wetland in Uttar Pradesh.
  Bakhira Wildlife sanctuary
  It is the largest natural flood plain wetland in India. The floodplain wetland is that part of the river valley that gets flooded with water periodically. The resident time of water here is greater than flood plains. The sanctuary is located to the west of Gorakhpur. It is breeding ground for resident birds and a staging ground for number of migratory birds. The Siberian birds visit the wetland during winter. Also, birds from China,
  Europe, Tibet and Siberia come to the lake during winters. There are more than 30 fish species. The dominant ones are Chana and Labeo rohita. The wetland is the breeding ground for the grey – headed swamphen. It is also called purple swamp hen or Indian purple moorhen. It is locally called Kaima.
  wetland is connected to the Bakhira canal. The canal runs 15 kms supplying water for irrigation to the nearby villages.
  Khijadia Bird Sanctuary
  It is located in Jamnagar, Gujarat. More than 300 migratory birds visit the sanctuary. It has freshwater marshlands, freshwater lakes and salt water marshlands. It is fed by river Ruparel. It also has creeks that support mangroves. It is located in the Gulf of Kutch region. The sanctuary is known for different types of nests such as floating nests, on ground nests and the ones built on trees. The black – necked storks are
  found in abundant in the sanctuary. It is not found anywhere else in India.
  India
  India has 52 tiger reserves. With the two new Ramsar sites, India now has 49 Ramsar sites. Also, there are two blue tag beaches in India.
  Andhra Pradesh’s CLAP campaign
  Government of Andhra Pradesh had started the “Clean Andhra Pradesh (CLAP)- Jagananna Swachha Sankalpam Programme, on October 2, 2021.
  Key Points
  Government started CLAP programme for cleaning rural areas, improving sanitation conditions and waste management with public participation.
  Under the campaign, rural households are advised not to dispose of garbage on streets and instead hand it over to garbage collector.
  Garbage Collecting Vehicles
  Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, had flagged off 4,097 garbage collecting vehicles to start the campaign. By November 2021, garbage collection from rural households was at 22 percent. By January 2022, it had reached to 61.50 per cent. Several Gram Panchayat officials are already sharing photos of garbage-free village streets and roads. Gram Panchayat will achieve all the targets under CLAP programme, including 100 per cent rural household garbage collection.
  Objectives of CLAP
  CLAP campaign was launched with the aim of segregating liquid and solid waste, encouraging home
  composting and onsite waste treatment, apart from door-to-door collection of garbage. It also seeks to
  make the rural areas free of open defecation.
  Open Defecation Free (ODF) campaign
  More than 13,000 sarpanches have been instructed strictly to lead Open Defecation Free (ODF) campaign from the front as well as ensure that their villages are ODF. It seeks to achieve ODF Plus status by the end of 2022. Andhra Pradesh government wants the state to become litter-free and garbage-free, by the end of 2022.
  ODF plus village
  A village which sustains its ODF status and ensures solid & liquid waste management and is visually clean are called as “ODF plus village”.
  Who will run the sanitation drive?
  Ahead of the launch of CLAP campaign, about 13,000 sarpanches and 1,200 district and mandal officials took part in an online training programme on sanitation drive conducted by UNICEF WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene). Government has deployed gram panchayat workers & officials, members of village & ward secretariats, health workers, and members of Zilla and Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies to run the campaign.
  Budget: Corporate Tax, AMT, Tax on Digital Assets
  In her Budget Speech 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shed light on tax liabilities for virtual assets like cryptocurrencies.
  Key Facts
  Income from any digital asset will now be taxed at 30 percent. There will be no deduction with exception of acquisition cost and TDS applicable beyond specified monetary threshold.
  Loss from transfer of these digital assets cannot be set off against any other income.
  There will be a tax deduction of 1% at source on such transactions.
  Gifts of such assets will also be taxed.
  30% tax was proposed on digital asset gains, irrespective of short or long-term holdings.
  Legal status of digital assets
  Recognition of digital assets under income tax is not similar to granting legal status.
  About the bill
  Bill provides for definition of virtual digital asset. It is wide enough to cover emerging digital assets such as assets in meta verse, NFT, tokens, digital currencies, etc. Bill also specifies a rider that no deduction will be allowed in respect of expenditure incurred on virtual digital assets except on cost of acquisition. In order to monitor Crypto transactions, a TDS of 1% will be levied on discharge of consideration whenever virtual
  digital asset will be transferred. It also provides for taxation on gift of virtual digital assets. In this case, recipient will be taxed. This will bring in additional challenges in operation of crypto exchanges worldwide and privacy concerns for individuals.
  What does this imply?
  This means that, if a person is holding cryptocurrencies, then income generated from such investment will be taxed at 30 percent. Any profits generated through cryptocurrencies trading would be taxed at 30%. It also includes taxing on gifts and transfer of virtual assets from one wallet to another owned by another person. Investors trading with cryptocurrencies will require to report gains or losses. Such gains or losses cannot be offset against other sort of income.
  What are the concerns?
  Proposed taxation is a stiff provision and will adversely impact investment in digital assets. Provisions related to relating to TDS might lead to unintended complications. Identity of payee is difficult while trading in digital assets. In case, PAN of payee is not available, it might attract a TDS of 20%.
  What is ‘Vibrant Villages’ programme?
  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her budget speech that, government is set to work on improving connectivity across northern border under the Vibrant Villages Programme.
  What is Vibrant Villages Programme?
  Minister did not provide details on this programme. However, as per reports the Vibrant Villages programme will be launched to improve infrastructure in villages along India’s border with China. Infrastructure will be improved in states like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh.
  Under the programme, residential and tourist centres will be constructed.
  It will also provide for improvement in road connectivity and development of decentralized renewable energy sources.
  Apart from that, direct access of Doordarshan and education related channels will be provided. Support will be provided for livelihood.
  Significance of the programme
  The announcement to launch Vibrant Villages Programme is significant in light of increasing China’s presence along the Himalayan frontier with India. China is actively constructing dual-use infrastructure. It has sparked concerns among government, strategic circles and security forces, and strategic circles. China has undertaken large-scale construction since 2017, along the border. It is building border villages in Tibet
  Objectives of the programme
  The vibrant villages programme will be launched with the objective of upgrading the housing facilities. This objective will be met by strengthening infrastructure across villages located near the Line of Actual Control
  (LAC). It seeks to prevent migration.
  China’s model villages
  China has developed model villages across border areas of Bhutan and Nepal along with India in recent years. India’s Vibrant Villages Programme is being considered as a response to China’s model villages.
  Project of blending hydrogen into CGD network Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has started India’s first-of-it’s-kind project to mix hydrogen into natural gas system at Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
  Key Facts
  Hydrogen blended natural gas will be supplied to Avantika Gas Limited, which is a Joint Venture (JV) company of GAIL with HPCL. It is operating in Indore.
  GAIL started “hydrogen blending programme”, in line with National Hydrogen Mission.
  Hydrogen blending programme was started as a pilot project to establish techno-commercial feasibility of blending hydrogen in City Gas Distribution (CGD) network.
  This project is a significant step in India’s journey towards hydrogen based and carbon neutral future.
  Injection of Grey Hydrogen
  Injection of Grey Hydrogen started by GAIL at City Gate Station (CGS), Indore. The grey hydrogen will subsequently be replaced by green hydrogen. GAIL has obtained necessary regulatory permissions for starting the project. It has also engaged domain experts for carrying the impact assessment of blending of hydrogen in natural gas. GAIL has also committed for the growth of gas-based economy in India, as well as for the growth of India’s vision of greener and cleaner environment.
  Significance of the project
  This project is significant, because India is moving forward with goal of achieving a carbon-neutral and selfreliant future. This project will also help in creating robust standard and regulatory framework in India for covering the aspects of injecting hydrogen into natural gas.
  GAIL (India) Limited
  It was earlier known as Gas Authority of India Ltd. It is a government owned natural gas corporation,
  working under Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It is responsible for natural gas processing and
  distribution across India. It is headquartered in GAIL Bhawan New Delhi.
  Grey hydrogen
  Grey hydrogen is produced from natural gas, wherein associated emissions are released in to air.
  PM-DevINE Scheme- Key Facts
  In Union Budget 2022-23, a new “PM-DevINE scheme” was proposed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
  What is PM-DevINE scheme?
  Government announced PM-DevINE scheme, with an initial allotment of Rs 1,500 crore.
  It stands for “Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North-East”.
  The scheme aims to fund infrastructure and need-based social development, including one-of-a-kind ‘Bamboo Link Roads’ in Mizoram.
  Bamboo Link Roads
  Bamboo Link Roads will be constructed in Mizoram, under the PM-DevINE scheme. These roads will help in transporting bamboo from forests. It will also help in management of paediatric and adult hematolymphoid
  How Mizoram will gain?
  Mizoram will gain the maximum with the launch of two projects:
  1. Pilot project for construction of bamboo link road. Roads will be constructed at different locations in several districts of the state at a tentative cost of Rs 100 crore.
  2. Construction of Aizawl By-pass for Rs 500 crore, on western side.
  Who will implement the PM-DevINE scheme?
  The PM-DevINE scheme will be implemented through North Eastern Council (NEC). However, this scheme is not a substitute for existing central or state schemes.
  Significance of the scheme
  The PM-DevINE scheme will fund “infrastructure in line with PM GatiShakti and social development projects”. Funding will be done on the basis of felt needs of the northeast. Scheme would enable livelihood activities for youth and women. It will also help in filling the gaps across various sectors.
  What are other projects?
  The other identified projects include:
  1. Establishment of Dedicated Services for “Management of Paediatric and Adult Hematolymphoid Cancers” in North Eastern states.
  2. NECTAR Livelihood Improvement Project (Multi-State).
  3. Promotion of Scientific Organic Agriculture in North East Indian (Multi-State).
  4. Gap funding for passenger ropeway system for Pelling to Sanga-Choeling in West Sikkim.
  5. Gap funding for eco-friendly cable car, from Dhapper to Bhaleydhunga in South Sikkim.
  Olympic Boulevard (Olympic Vithi)
  Public Works Department (PWD) has decided to dedicate around one-kilometre-long stretch in North Delhi, to honour the Olympic champions.
  Key Points
  To celebrate India’s success at Olympics and Para Olympics 2021 PWD will dedicate the stretch to Olympic champions like Neeraj Chopra, Ravi Dahiya, PV Sindhu, and others.
  The one-km-long stretch will be named as Olympics Vithi or Olympics Boulevard.
  Sports-themed stretch
  The Sports-themed stretch is first of its kind. It will be redeveloped and redesigned as part of ambitious
  streetscaping project by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Estimated length of the stretch is 900 metres. It will be redeveloped on Road Number 51, stretching from Mukundpur Chowk to MCD colony near Model Town.
  The Olympics Vithi or Olympics Boulevard
  The Olympics Vithi will have a sports look, comprising of sculptures and statues of:
  1. Javelin thrower and Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra
  2. Badminton player PV Sindhu
  3. Boxer Lovlina Borghain
  4. Wrestler Ravi Dahiya
  5. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu
  6. Wrestler Bajrang Punia etc.
  Size of these statue and sculptures will be 15 to 20 feet high with sheet metal thickness of 2-3mm and integrated lighting system to give them an aesthetic look.
  The stretch will also have a synthetic fibre cycle track, squat pushing, bicycle, open gyms with cross trainers and other equipment.
  It also comprises of a children play area, with multi-play equipment for children like hexa-climber, swing, creepy crawly climber, see-saw and others.
  Why will Olympics Boulevard be created?
  The Olympics Boulevard will be created to celebrate and honour the champions. It also seeks to inspire the youth of India to take up sports as a habit or as a vocation to stay fit.
  Streetscaping Project Under the streetscaping project, all the bottlenecks viz., poor road engineering and geometry, footpaths, kerbs, will be redeveloped, to provide a safe and secure pathway for pedestrians.
  Earth Trojan Asteroid
  The Trojan asteroids are those asteroids that share a common orbit with a planet in the solar system. These rocks circle the same star as that of the planet in the same path. So far only one Trojan asteroid was known to revolve in earth’s orbit. It was called 2010 TK7. Recently astronomers have found another Trojan asteroid revolving in the earth’s orbit. It has been named 2020 XL5. With this discovery, the astronomers have concluded that there are lot more earth Trojan asteroids.
  About 2020 XL5
  The 2020 XL5 earth Trojan asteroid was spotted using the Pan – STARRS 1 survey telescope located in Hawaii.
  The asteroid has been added to the Minor Planet Center database of International Astronomical Union.
  The asteroid orbits L4. L4 is the fourth Earth – sun Lagrange point. Lagrange point is gravitationally balanced region around the sun and the star.
  Mission Lucy
  It is a NASA mission to explore the Jupiter Trojan Asteroids. The mission will understand the composition
  of the asteroid swarms. It will find out mass and density of the materials. It will help scientists to
  understand the origin and evolution of these asteroids. The mission is to work for 12 years.
  Trojans of other planets
  Any celestial body that is following the orbit of another celestial body is referred to as Trojan. It is not necessary that they should be asteroids. Jupiter has more than one million Trojans. Mars has only nine Trojans, Uranus has two, Neptune has 28 and mother earth has two.
  Trojan Moons
  The same concept of Trojan occurs in moons as well. Here the primary celestial body is the planet and the secondary is one of its moons. The Saturn has Trojan moons. The Trojans of Tethys are Telesto and Caplypso. The Trojans of Dione are Helene and Polydeuces.
  EXIM Bank- Sri Lanka $500-mn loan agreement
  On February 2, 2022, the Export Import Bank (EXIM) of India and Government of Sri Lanka signed a USD 500- million Line of Credit agreement.
  Key Facts
  The loan agreement is aimed at helping Sri Lanka cope with its current fuel shortages, amid worst economic crisis in the island nation.
  India’s support for fuel imports by Sri Lanka, through the Line of Credit, is in light of Sri Lanka’s “urgent requirement”.
  Following the agreement, the Sri Lankan government is likely to invite bids from Indian suppliers soon to finalise its import.
  Sri Lanka’s ability to import fuel has been severely affected because of dollar crisis in Sri Lanka. It has further led to frequent reports of shortages and power failures.
  BackgroundIndia’s support to Sri Lanka came after a of a virtual meeting between External Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar and Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka Basil Rajapaksa. The meeting was held on January 15, 2022.
  Currency Swap
  India extended a USD 400 million currency swap to Sri Lanka in January 13, 2022.
  India also deferred another USD 500 million due for settlement to Asian Clearing Union (ACU), in a bid to help Sri Lanka cope with its dollar crunch.
  Now, governments from both the nations are in talks for another USD 1 billion assistance, at a time of unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
  EXIM Bank
  Government of India had established ‘EXIM bank’ under the Export-Import Bank of India Act, 1981. It was established as a vendor of export credit, to mirror global Export Credit Agencies. The bank serves as a growth engine for SMEs and industries through a wide range of services and products. This includes import of technology, export production, export product development, pre-shipment & post-shipment, export marketing and overseas investment.
  India Press Freedom Report, 2021
  The India Press Freedom Report, 2021 was recently released by the Rights and Risks Analysis Group.
  According to the report, 13 media houses and newspapers were targeted in the country, 108 journalists were attacked, and 6 journalists were killed.
  Key Findings
  The highest number of journalist attack was in Jammu and Kashmir. J&K faced more than 25 attacks.
  The second highest was in Uttar Pradesh with 23. UP was followed by Madhya Pradesh (16), Tripura (15), Delhi (8), Bihar (6), Assam (5), Haryana(4) and Maharashtra (4), Goa (3), Manipur (3), Karnataka (2), West Bengal (2), Tamil Nadu (2), Andhra Pradesh (1), Kerala (1), Chhattisgarh (1).
  Jammu and Kashmir had maximum number of attacks. On the other hand, Tripura had maximum number of attacks by non – state actors.
  Eight women journalists faced summons, FIR and arrest.
  24 journalists were attacked physically, obstructed, threatened, and harassed for doing their works.
  All these attacks were made by public officials. This includes police attacks as well. 17 of these attacks were police attacks.
  44 FIRs were registered against journalists in 2021. Of this 21 were registered under Section 153 of IPC.
  Section 153 of IPC
  Any person who does things that are illegal or provocative to others shall be punished with imprisonment.
  Inference
  The civic space in the country is deteriorating. Some of the protagonists in the country are of the opinion that IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) rules is one of the standing proof that current ruling government is cracking down press freedom.
  IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) rules
  The rules were framed to regulate digital content. They were framed under IT Act, 2000. The rules say that Monthly report should be produced by media platforms.
•  Social media should appoint chief compliance officer. Social media platforms should remove the content if there are complaints over dignity of the user.
  Two new Fossil Flowers in Myanmar
  The palaeontologists recently discovered two fossil flowers in Myanmar. The flowers lived by the end of Cretaceous period. They are some 100 million years old. The two flowers were Phylica piloburmensis and Eophylica priscastellata.
  What does the discovery say?
  The discovery of the two new fossil flowers implies that these flowers have sustained different evolutionary periods of the earth. Their counter parts are still living in South Africa. They are still in unmodified state.
  There are no significant changes between their modern counter parts. This means the flowers are sustaining the constantly changing ecosystem.
  What is so special about the discovery?
  Usually flowers turn into fruit or seed and vanish. And also, as compared to flowers, leaves are more resilient. The leaves actually hold greater ability and stamina for preservation. This makes the discovery of flowers in fossil records very rare. Thus, the new fossil flowers recently found in Myanmar are highly valuable because they are rare.
  What astonished the scientists?
  The flowering plants reproduce quickly. They have more detailed breeding mechanism. This promotes their evolution. Meaning they tend to change as days pass by. But there were no such changes in the new fossil flowers. By changes the scientists mean that, probably their leaves become greener, reduced in size to adapt to increasing temperature, flowers becoming larger or other changes. They have been the same for 100 million years! Even humans have changed and evolved in this duration. Hominids, the ancestors of humans lived 2 million years ago. There are evidential changes in humans as compared to hominids.
  Role of fires
  Scientists believe that fire is the inducing element. Fire forced the flowers to become strong and stay rigid to any form of change. 100 million years ago these flowers shaped themselves to survive on charred land surfaces. These flowers have survived the disaster that eradicated dinosaurs from the earth!
  Ecuador Landslide Between January 31 — February 1, 2022, heavy rainfall in Ecuador resulted into multiple landslides, mudflows and floods.
  A landslide in Quito in Ecuador took 23 life and injured 47 others. It has left nine missing, while collapsing at least nine houses.
  This landslide was caused by biggest rainfall in country, in nearly 20 years.
  As of February 2, 2022, at least 24 people were found dead.
  Authorities are expecting more landslides.
  Situation in Ecuador
  Ecuador is facing heavy rains in several areas. Heavy rainfall has caused rivers to overflow and has affected hundreds of homes and roads. The mayor’s office has started clearing streets in the city and has set up shelters for affected families.
  About Ecuador
  Ecuador is a country in north-western South America. It is bordered by Colombia, Peru and Pacific Ocean.
  The country also includes the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific, which is around 1,000 kilometres to the west of mainland. Quito is capital of Ecuador. It is a founding member of United Nations, Mercosur, PROSUR, Organization of American States, and Non-Aligned Movement.
  Quito is the capital of Ecuador. It is the closest capital city to the equator. It is located at an elevation of 2,850 m above sea level. It is the second-highest official capital city worldwide. It is located in Guayllabamba river basin, on eastern slopes of Pichincha, which is an active stratovolcano in the Andes.
  This city was designated as headquarters of Union of South American Nations in 2008.
  Climate of Ecuador
  Climate of Ecuador is tropical. It varies with altitude and region because of differences in elevation and proximity to the equator. Coastal lowlands in western part of Ecuador are usually warm with temperatures in the region of 25 °C. Coastal areas are affected by ocean currents. These areas are hot and rainy during January-April.
  Ancient Buddhist Temple in Pakistan
  The Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient Buddhist temple in Swat valley. The valley is located in Northern Pakistan. The temple was a part of the Gandhara region. The temple has a mix of Greek art and Buddist art. This is because the region was once conquered by Alexander the great.
  About the temple
  The temple dates to second century BC. During this time, Gandhara was ruled by Indo – Greek kingdom.
  According to archaeologists, the kingdom was raised above the demolished temple. This means the temple was actually built during the age of Gautama Buddha. Buddha lived between 563 BC and 483 BC.
  About the excavations
  The temple excavated has a ceremonial platform. It is three metres tall. It has a cylindrical structure or dome shaped Buddhist monument called stupa. The excavations in the Swat valley were started by the Italians in 1984. They have been working in the site since 1955. Their aim was to preserve the excavations from urban sprawls. There were serious hunt for artefacts in the site that earned millions in international markets.
  Challenges in the excavations
  According to the archaeologists, the central parts of the city have much more precious history buried. So far they were able to excavate only the south western parts of Barikot. The land rental and excavation costs are much higher in the central parts of the city. During the excavation, the archaeologists found pits dug by looters. This indicates that there were much more precious artefacts.
  Alexander in Barikot
  Alexander conquered Gandhara in 327 BCE. Barikot is mentioned as Beira or Bazira. Barikot is mentioned in Mahabharata as “City of Vajra”. The events of Mahabharata probably occurred during 9th or 8th century BCE.
  Mahabharata war was fought between Pandavas and Gauravas. They were cousin brothers. Gandhara was the birth place of Queen Gandhari, the mother of Gauravas.
  Merovingian dynasty headless horse remains
  Archaeologists have unearthed a headless horse in Knittlingen in Germany. The headless horse was buried 1,400 years ago. A man’s skeletal was also found next to the headless horse. Probably he was the owner of the horse when it was alive.
  About the headless horse
  The horse belonged to Merovingian dynasty. The period was around 476 AD to 750 AD.
  The man unearthed along the horse should have served the kings of the dynasty. He was one among those who stood in the chain of command. That is he participated in the campigns of the kings. He was certainly not a farmer. He should have been a member a local elites. The reason why he was buried next to his horse is still not known.
  The archaeologists did not find the head of the horse.
  Along with this, the archaeologists also found remains of other people. These people were commers and they lived around the same period as that of the horse rider. They were buried with wealthy goods. Some women were buried with gold brooch. Some others were buried with lances, swords, arrow heads and shields.
  Merovingian dynasty
  The dynasty existed till 5th century AD. The Merovingian had long hair. The name comes from King Merovech. Unlike Greeks, they did not believe the fact that they are descendants of gods. The Merovingian whose hair is cut cannot rule. The first Merovingian king was Childeric I. His son was Clovis. Clovis converted to Christianity. The name Louis came from Clovis. The kings of France were named Louis even in19th century.
  Kerala- CEIIC MoU for Clean Energy Incubation Centre
  Kerala Government has signed an MoU with the Social Alpha, through its “Clean Energy International Incubation Centre (CEIIC)”.
  Key facts
  Government of Kerala signed MoU through Kerala Development & Innovation Strategy Council (KDISC) and Energy Management Centre (EMC).
  MoU highlights the joint commitment of KDISC, EMC, and CEIIC to work together in areas of innovative & clean energy technologies, which integrate with programmes and initiatives of the Kerala. This collaboration will facilitate Kerala in curating innovative technologies for deployment by means of government initiatives to address the challenges in power sector and energy access for all. The joint set-up incubation centre will leverage infrastructure and labs already set up by collaborating agencies.
  The initiative addresses the pressing need of solutions leveraging disruptive clean energy
  technologies for accelerating progress toward net zero.
  This program will also align with the goals of Mission Innovation Platform and India’s commitment towards Climate.
  Role of Tata Power
  Tata Power is one of the key stakeholders. It will lend support to the joint incubator in a bid to create affordable and scalable solutions, through a strong network of more than hundred national and international technology and institution partners, cadre of experts and lab facilities.
  Clean Energy International Incubation Centre (CEIIC)
  CEIIC is an Energy lab of Social Alpha, set up in 2018. It is a joint initiative of Tata Trusts and Government of India. It is supported by Department of Biotechnology, BIRAC, and Tata Power. CEIIC was set up to promote innovations in energy space. It has become India’s first International Incubator, under Mission Innovation. It is designed for offering complete “lab to market” incubation support to clean energy enterprises.
  Mission Innovation
  It is a global initiative, launched to catalyse a decade of action and investment in research, development and demonstration for making clean energy attractive, accessible and affordable for all. The mission seeks to accelerate progress towards Paris Agreement goals and pathways to net zero.
• On February 5, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Hyderabad to kickstart the 50th anniversary celebrations of “International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)”.
  Key Points
  He will dedicate a 216-feet tall “statue of equality” to the nation, on this occasion.
  ‘Statue of equality’ commemorates the 11th century bhakti saint Sri Ramanujacharya. The saint promoted the idea of equality across all the aspects of living, including caste, creed and faith. Inauguration of the statue is part of ongoing 12-day celebrations of his 1000th birth anniversary.
  About Statue of Equality
  The statue is made of ‘panchaloha’, which is a combination of five metals namely, gold, silver, copper, zinc and brass. It is one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting position worldwide.
  It is mounted on a 54-feet high base building named ‘Bhadra Vedi’.
  It comprises of:
  1. Floors, which is devoted for a vedic digital library & research centre,
  2. A Theatre
  3. Ancient Indian texts
  4. An educational gallery, detailing several works of Sri Ramanujacharya.
  Statue has been conceptualised by Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swami, from Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram.
  3D presentation mapping
  During the programme, a 3D presentation mapping on life journey and teachings of the saint Sri Ramanujacharya will be showcased. On the occasion, PM Modi will also visit the identical recreations of 108 ‘divya desams’ (ornately carved temples), surrounding the statue.
  Inauguration of climate change research facility
  During the visit, PM will also inaugurate ICRISAT’s climate change research facility on plant protection. He will also inaugurate ICRISAT’s rapid generation advancement facility. Both the facilities will be dedicated to smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
  PM Modi will also unveil a specially designed logo of ICRISAT. Commemorative stamp will also be issued on the occasion.
  About ICRISAT
  ICRISAT is an international organisation, involved in conducting agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The organisation helps farmers by providing them improved crop varieties and hybrids. It also helps smallholder farmers in drylands to fight against climate change.
  Who was Sri Ramanujacharya?
  Ramanujacharya was a Hindu theologian, Indian philosopher, social reformer, and an important exponent of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition. His philosophical foundations for devotionalism influenced the Bhakti movement. He worked for upliftment of people with the spirit of every human being equal regardless of caste, creed, gender, race and nationality.
  Supercomputer Param Pravega
  Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bengaluru has commissioned one of the most powerful supercomputers, called “Param Pravega” in India.
  About Supercomputer Param Pravega
  Param Pravega supercomputer has a supercomputing capacity of 3.3 petaflops.
  It is the largest supercomputer in an Indian academic institution.
  Who has designed Param Pravega?
  The supercomputer has been designed and developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). Majority of components used in the supercomputer have been manufactured and assembled indigenously. Its software was also developed in India.
  Purpose of commissioning of supercomputer Param Pravega supercomputer has been commissioned in the institution under National Supercomputing
  Mission (NSM). It has been commissioned to power diverse research and educational pursuits from entire India. Under NSM, 10 supercomputer systems have been established so far in India, with a cumulative computing power of 17 petaflops.
  Significance of supercomputer
  These systems have helped faculty members and students in carrying major R&D activities. It will help them in developing platforms for genomics and drug discovery, establishing flood warning & prediction systems, studying urban environmental issues, as well as optimising telecom networks.
  About Param Pravega
  Param Pravega is a supercomputer part of High-Performance Computing class of systems. This system is a mix of heterogeneous nodes, comprising of Intel Xeon Cascade Lake processors for CPU nodes. It hosts an array of program development tools, utilities and libraries to develop and execute High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications, comprising of software stack on top of the hardware. It also hosts highmemory
  CPU-only nodes, similar in configuration to CPU-only nodes. There is a total of 156 such nodes on this system. It can yield a maximum of 7488 cores for high-memory computations.
  Operating system
  The system is developed to operate using Linux OS, based on CentOS 7.x distribution.
  World Cancer Day 2022
  The World Cancer Day 2022 is observed every year on February 4, worldwide.
  Key facts
  The day is observed to raise awareness, inspire change and reduce global impact of cancer.
  It is celebrated with the aim of reducing misconceptions regarding cancer and prejudices associated with it. It helps people in getting right information about cancer.
  It also offers a chance for making an impact in betterment of life of cancer patients and survivors.
  Global Uniting Initiative
  The World Cancer Day has been declared as a “Global Uniting Initiative”, by Union of International Cancer
  Control (UICC).
  Theme of World Cancer Day 2022
  The World Cancer Day 2022 was observed under the theme- ‘Close the Care Gap’. The theme is all about understanding and recognising the inequities in cancer care worldwide. It seeks to identify and recognise global disparities in cancer care, which is preventing people from certain economic strata full access to essential healthcare facilities and services.
  History of World Cancer Day
  The day was established on February 4, 2000, during World Cancer Conference for New Millennium in Paris, France. Since then, people across the world observe this day, every year. A different theme is dedicated every year, in a bid to improve the quality of lives of cancer patients and spread awareness on cancer, its treatment and prevention.
  Significance of the day
  The World Cancer Day is observed with the aim of raising awareness and reducing the social stigma associated with it. On this day, everyone comes together with an objective of achieving a healthier and brighter world free of cancer. Various events are planned on this day to held discussion on educating people on cancer.
  Status of Cancer
  Cancer has become second leading cause of death worldwide. The top cancers affecting Indian population are breast, lung, cervical, head, neck and colorectal cancer (CRC).
  Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations
  Union Government has approved the continuation of “Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs)”, to strengthen its support for sports in India.
  Key Facts
  Continuation of scheme has been approved with an outlay of Rs. 1575 crore for 2021-22 to 2025-26, that is XV Finance Commission Cycle.
  Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs)
  Scheme of Assistance to NSFs is the flagship Central Sector Scheme. It is a main source of funding to prepare national teams for all major national and international competitions, including Asian Games, Para Asian Games, Olympic Games, Para-Olympics, Commonwealth Games (CWG) and other major international tournaments.
  How will this outlay be used?
  Outlay in the cycle will be extended to NSFs for training of national teams for national and
  international competitions during 2022-2026, specifically for Commonwealth & Asian Games 2022,
  Olympics & Paralympics 2024 and Asian & Commonwealth Games 2026.
  Financial support was extended by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports through this Scheme.
  It will be used by NSFs for:
  1. Conducting national coaching camps
  2. Providing training of international standards to athletes
  3. Procuring sports equipment and consumables
  4. Conducting data analysis on performance of athletes
  5. Providing sports science support
  6. Providing recovery and rehabilitation to athletes with injury
  7. Engaging foreign coaches and high-performance directors
  8. Setting up a professional administrative system within NSFs.
  It will also help in improving bench strength of Indian athletes through a strong talent identification.
  India’s Medal Tally
  In Tokyo Olympics 2020, India won 7 medals, in 6 separate disciplines. It was the highest Olympic medal tally for India. In Tokyo Paralympics 2020, India won 19 medals. In CWG 2018, India got 66 medals while in Asian games it won 69 medals. India won 72 medals in Para Asian Games 2018, highest ever tally at Asian
  Para Games. In a highest ever tally, India won 13 medals in Youth Olympics Games 2018.
  Konkurs-M Anti-Tank Guided Missiles
  On February 3, 2022, Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and Indian Army signed a contract worth Rs 3,131.82 crore to manufacture and supply Konkurs-M anti-tank guided missiles.
  Key Facts
  This contract will be executed in three years.
  Order book position of BDL stands at Rs 11,400 crore, including Konkurs-M contract.
  Who is manufacturing Konkurs-M?
  The Konkurs-M anti-tank guided missiles is being manufactured by BDL as a part of license agreement with Russian Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Missile has been indigenised up to the maximum extent.
  BDL is also offering Konkurs-M missiles for exporting it to friendly foreign countries.
  About Konkurs-M
  Konkurs-M is a second generation, mechanised infantry anti-tank guided missile. It is being manufactured to destroy armoured vehicles equipped with explosive reactive armour. Missile can be launched either from
  BMP-II tank or from a ground launcher. It has a range of 75 to 4000 metres. The missile has been designed to engage modern tanks fitted with light armoured vehicles, ERA, fortifications & engineer structures at ranges of 75 to 4,000 meters. It can work in daylight as well as night light conditions. The ATGM system comprises of combat assets, training aids and maintenance facilities. Installation of the system
  Because of its launcher design, Konkurs-M system can be installed on a variety of tracked and wheeled platforms.
  Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)
  BDL is manufacturer of ammunitions and missile systems in India. It was established in 1970 in Hyderabad,
  Telangana. It was established to be a manufacturing base for guided weapon systems. It has three manufacturing units, at:
  1. Kanchanbagh in Hyderabad, Telangana;
  2. Bhanur in Medak district, Telangana and
  3. Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
  Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)
  On February 2, 2022, India inked an interim agreement to confirm its commitment for working on mega science project called “Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)”.
  Highlights
  The agreement will be valid for one year.
  The Cooperation Agreement between India and SKA was signed virtually.
  India was represented by TIFR – National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA).
  About Square Kilometre Array Observatory
  SKAO is proposed to be world’s largest radio telescope.
  This project will facilitate India in making its first monetary contribution towards construction phase of SKA.
  SKA will be built in Australia and South Africa.
  It is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
  Apart from three host countries, viz., Italy, China and France; Switzerland and Canada are among countries building SKAO.
  SKAO is likely to be operational by the end of this decade.
  Is India a member country of SKA?
  India is a participating country in the setting up of world’s largest radio telescope. However, it is yet to receive central government’s approval to become a Member Country.
  SKA Council
  In December 2020, the SKA Organisation became SKA Council. It is an umbrella body to plan, oversee and
  undertake the construction of SKA Observatory. It also manages operations of facility in decades to come.
  Background of Square Kilometre Array (SKA)
  SKA is an intergovernmental radio telescope project. It is being built in Australia and South Africa. It was started in 1990s, and further developed and designed by late-2010s. after completion, it will have a total collecting area of approximately one square kilometre. It will operate across a wide range of frequencies.
  Its size will make it 50 times more sensitive as compared to any other radio instrument. It will require very high-performance central computing engines as well as long-haul links. If it is built as planned, it would be able to survey the sky about ten thousand times faster than before.
  WHO Report on Health Care Waste
  The World Health Organization recently raised concerns against the extra medical waste created by COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has put immense strain on medical waste management systems in the world.
  Key findings of WHO Report
  The World Health Organization alone sent 87,000 tonnes of Personal protective equipment between March 2020 and November 2021. This equipment should have turned into waste by now. They were all sent under emergency initiative of the organization. These numbers project the PPE used within the initiative. It does
  not include the waste generated by the public such as disposable medical masks. The WHO had sent 140 million test kits. These kits should have generated 2,600 tonnes of medical wastes. They are all made of plastics. Also, the kits should have generated 731,000 litres of chemical waste. The WHO sent 8 billion doses of vaccines. These vaccines should have created 144,000 tonnes of medical wastes in the form of syringes, safety boxes and needles.
  Current Scenario
  The WHO report says that 30% of health care facilities are not equipped to handle the medical waste. 60%
  of them are in least developed countries. This exposes the front line workers to pathogenic organisms, burns, stick injuries. It also affects the communities living nearby. Also, it affects the poorly managed landfills. It contaminates the air and spreads diseases through pests.
  Recommendations made by the report
  Use eco – friendly packaging. Also increase the use of reusable Personal Protective Equipment, biodegradable materials. Invest in non – burn waste treatment technologies, reverse logistics and support centralised treatment, increase investment in recycling sector. Increase budget and financing. The COVID – 19 waste management issues can be addressed through strong national policies, increasing accountability of the public, regular monitoring, behavioural change and by increasing workforce development.
• The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) recently identified a new Vatta species. The new fish is called Scomberoides pelagicus.
  About the new fish
  The new fish belongs to queen fish group. It is localled called Pola vatta. The fish has a concave dorsal head, deep ovate body. The number of gill rakers in this species is very less as compared to its other closely
  related species. The discovery helps to enrich marine diversity of the country. Also it increases the  reputation of India in terms of biodiversity. It will help the policy makers, environmentalists to work on new conservation plans.
  About Queen fish
  It belongs to the family Sciaenidae. It is found in Pacific Ocean. Its conservation status is Least Concern. It is also called the queen croaker. It is around 30 centi metres long. It has an elongated and compressed
  body. The belly is silver grey in colour. The fins are yellowish and the pectoral fin is dark. The mouth of the fish has two rows of pointed teeth. These fish are in coastal water during day. They move towards deeper waters at nights. Very little data is available about the spread of its population. It is the most common sport fishing catch in California.
  Food
  It feeds on small fish and marine invertebrates. The adult fish feed on anchovy. The juvenile eat crustaceans such as copepods. The queen fish is the major prey for many kinds of large fish.
  Croaking sound
  These fish produce a croaking sound. The croaking is different for different species of queen fish. The croaking sound is a mating call and is produced by the male fish. Some other fishes use croaking sounds for communication. They have year – round ability.
  Significance
  According to FAO, these fishe are the 25th most abundant species. They are the most important species for fisheries.
  NROL-87 Mission
  NROL-87 was launched by SpaceX. Under the mission, the company recently launched a spy satellite for the US military. The satellite was carried by Falcon rocket. This is the second of the three planned launches under the mission. Much information of the NRO fleet is never leaked out. This is because these satellites are used for military purposes.
  About NROL-87
  It is the first NRO mission that involved rocket landing. Rocket landing is also called vertical landing. It was launched from the Vandenberg Space Force base located in California. The NROL-87 is a US reconnaissance satellite. The Falcon rocket delivered the satellite at 512.7 km orbit. It was placed in a Sun Synchronous Orbit. It is also called helio synchronous orbit. It is a polar orbit. Here the satellite passes through the given
  point at the same local mean solar time.
  Reconnaissance satellite of US
  These satellites are being launched from 1961. They are controlled and operated by NRO, that is, National Reconnaissance Office. Every year, the NRO launches several numbers of satellites. The office designs, builds, operate reconnaissance satellites. The reconnaissance satellites are used for military purposes and intelligence applications.
  Recently SpaceX launched the Italian CSG-2. It was an earth observation satellite. Also, SpaceX is to launch 49 of its starlink satellites from the Kennedy space center of NASA. NROL-87 was the fifth launch of SpaceX in 2022. And it is the 143rd orbital launch and 105th booster landing. Usually satellite launching is expensive.
  But still, the company is able to make frequent launches mainly because of its Falcon rocket. The first stage of the rocket is reusable. That is after placing the satellite in its orbit, it returns to earth to carry another satellite. This makes satellite launch inexpensive for SpaceX.
  Tripura: Third Border Haat
  On February 3, 2022, Chief Minister of Tripura Biplab Kumar Deb laid the foundation stone for Kamalpur- Kurmaghat border haat between India and Bangladesh.
  Highlights
  The border haat will be constructed in Dhalai district.
  This project will further boost trade relations between both the countries. It will strengthen the cultural and emotional ties between both.
  Background
  The cultural and trade ties between India and Bangladesh started under the leadership of founding father of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
  Significance of Tripura
  Tripura is considered to play crucial role in India-Bangladesh friendship. This state was at the centre of Bangladesh’s Liberation War against Pakistan atrocities in 1971. It had sheltered 15 lakh East Pakistani refugees and hosted training camps and shelters for liberation warriors (Muktijoddhas).
  About the third border haat
  The third border haat of Tripura will be opened at Kamalpur. It would be spread over an area of 75 square meters. It is likely to be able to accommodate 100 vendors on each side.
  Operational Border Haat
  Two border Haats are already operational at Kamalasagar in Sipahijala district and at Srinagar in South Tripura.
  When did countries identified locations for border haat?
  Authorities from India and Bangladesh had identified locations for three additional border haats in February,
  2020. Locations were identified along the Tripura-Bangladesh frontiers. The proposed locations were:
  1. Paharmura of Khowai district
  2. Jagarampur of Sepahijala and
  3. Bamutia of West Tripura district.
  What is Border Haats?
  Border Haats are unique modes of duty-free trading post, along India-Bangladesh border. At this space, locally grown products are sold to people, who are living within a radius of 5 Km of the Haat. Products are sold on specific days of the week. Border haats were conceptualized for promoting wellbeing of people
  from remote areas across the India-Bangladesh Border. It is jointly organised by governments of Bangladesh and India. This place not only act as a market for locals and tourists to buy daily commodities but also act as a reunion spot for families living along the international border of India and Bangladesh.
  ITS in Mumbai-Nagpur expressway
  The ‘ITS’ is Intelligent Transportation System. It is a Korean technology. The technology is to be used to monitor Mumbai – Nagpur Expressway. It is the longest expressway in India. The technology will help to prevent accidents. The first phase of the expressway is to be opened by the end of February 2022.
  The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation is building the expressway. It is the fastest and longest expressway in the country. It is an eight lane expressway. Vehicles can run at a maximum speed of 150 km per hour. The total cost of the expressway is Rs 55,000 crores. The loan to build the expressway is
  provided by the Economic Development Cooperation Fund. It is a Korean fund.
  The expressway will reduce the travel time between Nagpur and Mumbai to eight hours. Currently it is 16 hours.
  What is ITS?
  The ITS makes the roads safe. It is an intelligent system that monitors the road, informs about road blockages well ahead, reports about weather conditions. It is communication and information technologies applied on road transport.
  Features of ITS
  The three main features of ITS are Optical Fibre Cable network, Integrated Traffic Management System and Toll collection system.
  ITS includes visual messaging service, video incident detection, traffic violation control and surveillance, vehicle detection, drone based surveillance, tunnel management system, speed and lane enforcement.
  ITS will include a tunnel traffic management centre. The centre will close the entrance of the tunnel automatically in case of serious accidents. And the system will inform the other vehicles on the expressway about the closure.
  The entire system will be monitored through CCTV cameras. The ITS will collect real time data about accidents, speed and weather. This helps to prevent accidents. This includes drone cameras as well.
  The system will have an electronic toll collection centre. The centre is to be located at every 100 km of the expressway. FAST Tags are to be used for toll collection.
  West Bengal ‘Paray Shikshalaya’
  Paray Shikshalaya is open room classroom. It is to be launched by the West Bengal Government. The Paray Shikshalaya is launched for the pre – primary and primary students.
  Key Features
  Under the scheme, elementary education will be provided to students of class 1 to class 5. The classes will
  be conducted on ground. The students will be encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities. Mid –
  day meals will be provided.
  Need for the scheme
  According to NITI Aayog, the dropout rate in primary level in 2010-11 was 6.61%. Also, after COVID, the number students coming to schools have decreased all over India. The rural areas of West Bengal have not yet received internet services. In this condition, the open room classroom is the best way to bring in the primary school children. It is inexpensive. The state government is already borrowing loans from World
  Bank and IMF to implement its scheme.
  Education in West Bengal
  The instructions are mainly provided in Bengali or English. In central Kolkata, Urudu is also used. The state is mainly famous for its higher education. The literary rate in the state has increased from 68.64% in 2001
  to 77.08% in 2011. The female literacy rate is 70.54% and the male literacy rate is 81.69%. The top literate districts of the state are Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, Kolkata, Howrah and Hugli. The state follows
  10+2+3 education patter. In order to comply with the new Education policy, 2020, the education pattern of the state may be change to 5+3+3+4.
  The major education schemes in the state are National Programme for Educaiton of Girls at elementary level, National Programme of Nutritional Support to primary education and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The literacy rate increased mainly due to these three programmes.
  How is the performance of the state in the field?
  There are more than 33 universities in the state. Also, there are more than 500 degree colleges. The state is one of the most important education hubs of India. According to the National Institute Ranking Framework,
  seven colleges in the state were ranked in top hundred. Also, five universities of the state secured top ranking.
  The Netherlands New HIV variant
  The researchers of Netherlands have discovered a new HIV variant. It has been named as VB variant. It was lurking the country for a long period. The variant causes 3.5 times to 5.5 times higher levels of infection.
  However, there is no cause of alarm because of modern treatments.
  About the VB variant
  The recovery of immune system in VB variant is same as that of the other HIV variants. The variant emerged
  between 1980 and 1990 in Netherlands. However, it began to decline in 2010.
  Inference from the discovery
  Viruses evolve to become more virulent. Delta variant of COVID-19 is justifies the statement. Therefore, it is essential to widen the testing points. The widened HIV testing helps in early diagnosis. Therefore, one should never be overconfident about the evolution of viruses. Also, it wrong to assume that viruses evolve to become milder.
  Virulent nature of the new variant
  The VB variant has so far had 500 mutations. It is constantly evolving. Finding mutants is normal. However, it is not common to find new variant with unusual properties.
  What is unique in VB variant?
  The HIV kills the immune cells. It deteriorates the immune system. This is measured by monitoring the
  decline of CD4 T – cells. These cells are the primary target of HIV. And these cells play a major role in
  human immune system. In patients infected with VB variant, the CD4 decline is two times higher. This
  means the development of AIDS diseases is faster and vigorous.
  What are CD4 T – cells?
  These cells are called helper cells. These cells trigger the response of the body. They do not neutralise the infections.
  Beehive Project
  The variant was first identified under the Beehive project. The project monitors HIV samples collected from Uganda and Europe.
  Current Scenario
  The VB Variant is becoming less virulent in Uganda and more virulent in the US. The reason for the happening is not yet known.
  Assam Leopard census
  On February 3, 2022, forest department officials have rescued a leopard from Sishugram Red Cross society near IIT Guwahati.
  Key Points
  Leopard will be released in its safe habitat after observation.
  NKF Division has also started the process of leopard counting census under its divisional jurisdiction.
  Current Affairs [PDF] – February 1-15, 2022
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  Leopard counting census
  For the first time, North Kamrup Forest Division (NKF Division) has initiated an exclusive leopard counting census in Assam’s Forest and non-forest areas. Leopard counting census has been initiated in leopard density areas of Amingaon in Kamrup district. It started from January 31, 2022. Leopard counting will be done through camera trapping method. 50 cameras will be installed in Sila Reserve Forest, NIPER, Changsari, AIIMS etc. across Amingaon area.
  Status of Leopards Report
  In July 2021, the Union Environment Ministry released a report titled “Status of Leopards, Copredators and Megaherbivores-2018”, on the occasion of World Tiger Day.
  As per the report, official leopard count in India has increased 63 per cent in between 2014-2018. In 2018, there were 12,852 leopards in India, while there were 7,910 in 2014.
  Largest number of leopards have been estimated in Madhya Pradesh (3,421). It is followed by Karnataka (1,783) and Maharashtra (1,690).
  About Leopard
  The Scientific Name of Leopard is Panthera pardus. It is listed in Schedule I of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is also included in Appendix I of CITES. In IUCN Red List, it is listed in vulnerable category. As of now, 9 subspecies of the leopard have been recognised. They are distributed across Asia and Africa.
  Manas, Kaziranga and Orang Tiger Reserves in Assam.
  Satpura, Kanha and Panna Tiger Reserves in Madhya Pradesh.
  Pench Tiger Reserves in Maharashtra.
  Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar.
  Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in Uttar Pradesh.
  Sunderbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal.
  Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in Kerala.
  Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka.
  Mudumalai and Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.
  About CA|TS
  CA|TS was officially launched in 2013. It is an accreditation tool, agreed upon by global coalition of Tiger Range Countries (TRCs). It has been developed by tiger and protected area experts. CA|TS allows tiger sites
  to check if their management will result into successful tiger conservation.
  China- Pakistan CPEC agreement
  On February 4, 2022, Pakistan signed a new agreement with China to start second phase of USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
  Key Points
  On the occasion, Prime Minister Imran Khan praised the controversial projects, stating that it has strategic significance for Pakistan and China. It will also deliver tangible benefits to the people.
  Prime Minister arrived in China, on a four-day visit for attending the opening ceremony of 2020 Beijing Winter Olympics.
  He held virtual meeting with He Lifeng, Chairman of China’s National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) and held discussion on expansion of Chinese investments in Pakistan.
  Framework Agreement on Industrial Cooperation
  On the occasion, Framework Agreement on Industrial Cooperation was also signed with the aim of:
  1. Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
  2. Promote industrialisation and development of economic zones, and
  3. Initiating, planning, executing and monitoring projects in public as well as private sector.
  China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
  CPEC is a collection of infrastructure projects, which are under construction throughout Pakistan. It started in 2013. This project was originally valued at USD 47 billion. Its value has increased to worth USD 62 billion as of 2020. CPEC project focuses on rapidly upgrading Pakistan’s required infrastructure and strengthening its economy by constructing modern transportation networks, special economic zones and numerous energy projects. It is a 3,000-km long route of infrastructure projects, to connect China’s northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Gwadar Port in western province of Balochistan in Pakistan.
  Is the CPEC operational?
  CPEC became partly operational on November 13, 2016, when Chinese cargo was transported to Gwadar Port and move maritime shipment onwards to Africa and West Asia. some of its power projects were commissioned by late 2017.
  Present status of CPEC
  The progress for CPEC has been halted, due to security concerns of workers amid covid 19 pandemic and protests in Northwest-Frontier Province and Balochistan.
  Why is India against  PEC?
  India is protesting against CPEC, because it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
  ATLAS Asteroid Tracking System
  The NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) has become first survey capable of searching entire dark sky for near-Earth objects (NEOs), every 24 hours.
  Key Facts
  ATLAS is a state-of-the-art asteroid detection system. It is operated by University of Hawai‘i (UH) Institute for Astronomy(IfA) for Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) of NASA.
  ATLAS has expanded its reach to southern hemisphere by including two additional observatories in Chile and South Africa. It now comprises of four telescopes.
  It has two existing northern-hemisphere telescopes on Haleakala and Maunaloa in Hawai‘i.
  ATLAS is now capable of searching entire dark sky every 24 hours. Thus, it has become an important asset for NASA’s continuous effort for finding, tracking and monitoring NEOs.
  Who developed ATLAS?
  First two ATLAS telescopes were developed in Hawai‘I, by UH IfA. It was developed under a 2013 grant from NASA’s Near-Earth Objects Observations Program. Now, these telescopes are part of NASA’s PDCO. The two facilities on Haleakala and Maunaloa, became fully operational in 2017.
  Discoveries by ATLAS
  As of now, ATLAS system has discovered more than 700 near-Earth asteroids and 66 comets. It also detected two very small asteroids, 2019 MO and 2018 LA, that actually impacted Earth. ATLAS is specially designed for detecting objects approaching very close to Earth. ATLAS-Sutherland in South Africa, recently discovered its first NEO called 2022 BK. 2022 BK is a 100-meter asteroid and it poses no threat to Earth.
  NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)
  It is world’s first full-scale mission for testing a technology to defend Earth against potential asteroid impacts. It was launched on November 24, 2021, from Space Force Base in California, onboard SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. DART was launched to deflect a known asteroid, for slightly changing asteroid’s motion.
  Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO)
  PDCO is a planetary defense organization. It was established in January 2016 within the Planetary Science Division of Science Mission Directorate of NASA.
  Craft Map of Manipur
  The craft map of Manipur was prepared on the basis of a field survey by an expert team in 2018-19. It is the first of its kind, prepared with the objective of providing equal, concentrated attention to all art forms.
  Highlights
  The craft map of Manipur was prepared more than a year ago.
  It provides the details of Manipur’s handloom and handicraft traditions.
  This map recently came into limelight, when Konsam Ibomcha Singh received the 2022 Padma Shri for doll-making craft.
  Apart from him, Lourembam Bino Devi was similarly honoured for preserving ‘leeba’ applique textile art from state, for more than five decades.