1. For the first time, Indian-American woman elected as president of Harvard Law Review
Tags: Person in news International News
Apsara A Iyer, a second year student at Harvard Law School, has been elected as the President of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.
An overview of the news
Apsara A Iyer, 29, has become the first woman to be named to the post in the prestigious publication's 136-year-long history.
Iyer will replace Priscilla Coronado.
Iyer was elected the 137th president of the Harvard Law Review, which was founded in 1887 and is one of the oldest student-run legal scholarship publications.
The Law Review, operated under the Harvard Law School, is an organisation that reviews and selects articles published in the legal field.
Who Is Apsara Iyer?
She graduated from Yale in 2016 with a B A in Economics and Math, and Spanish.
She then did an MPhil at Oxford as a Clarendon Scholar because of his dedication to archeology and indigenous communities.
In 2018, Iyer joined the Manhattan District Attorney's Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU) which tracks down stolen art and artifacts.
She has previously been a contributor to the Law School's Harvard Human Rights Journal and the National Security Journal.
She is also a member of the South Asian Law Students Association.
2. Visva-Bharati University to get the status of world's first "Living Heritage University"
Tags: National News
Visva-Bharati University is expected to get the status of the world's first "Living Heritage University" from UNESCO by April-May 2023.
An overview of the news:
Usually the heritage tag is given by UNESCO to the intangible monument. But for the first time in the world, a tangible university will be given the legacy tag.
Visva-Bharati University:
It was established in the year 1921 by Rabindranath Tagore. It is located in Santiniketan, West Bengal.
Until the Visva-Bharati Society was registered as an organisation in May 1922, it was named after Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
According to UNESCO, Visva-Bharati was inaugurated in the year 1922 as a cultural centre with explorations in arts, languages, humanities, music.
The institute was granted the status of a Central University in the year 1951 through a Central Act.
It is the only university whose Vice-Chancellor is the Prime Minister.
About UNESCO:
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN).
It is also a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UN SDG), a coalition of United Nations agencies and organisations that aims to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Headquarters:- Paris, France
Director General: -Audrey Azoulay
Founded - 16 November 1945 in London, United Kingdom
The organisation has -193 members and 11 associate members.
3. Bhupender Yadav Launched ‘Save Wetlands Campaign’ For Wetland Conservation
Tags: Environment National News
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav on 4 February launched the ‘Save Wetlands Campaign’ in the presence of Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant.
An overview of the news
The campaign is based on a "whole of society" approach to wetland conservation.
It enables positive actions for wetland conservation at all levels of society and involves all levels of society.
This campaign will provide an opportunity to sensitise people about the value of wetlands, increase the coverage of wetlands and citizen participation for wetland conservation in the years to come.
During the occasion two publications were also released ‘India’s 75 Amrit Dharohar- India’s Ramsar Sites Factbook’ and ‘Managing Climate Risks in Wetlands – A Practitioner’s Guide.
The factbook provides information on 75 Ramsar sites, including their value, the threats they face and management arrangements in place.
The Practitioner's Guide on Climate Risk Assessment provides step-wise guidance on the integration of adaptation and mitigation responses into wetland management planning.
Number of Wetlands Sites in India
There are a total of 75 wetland sites in India that are included in the Ramsar sites.
About 49 wetland sites in India have been included in Ramsar sites in the last 9 years.
India's 13 lakh hectares of land comes under Ramsar sites. The largest wetland site in India is the Sundarbans site.
The theme of this year's Wetland Day is 'It's time for wetlands restoration'.
4. Agriculture Ministry signs MoU to develop national level digital extension platform
Tags: National Economy/Finance
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare signed an MoU in New Delhi on 6 February with Digital Green under a public-private partnership framework to build a national-level digital extension platform.
An overview of the news
The platform will operate a digital library having material available in different languages and in different formats which will be helpful to the extension functionaries.
Through this material will also be available to the farmers. The proposed digital platform will make the extension system more effective.
Through this, skill development of the network of people associated with the areas of fisheries, agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and rural livelihood mission will also be done through certified online courses.
Through this, farmers will be linked to the strong base of the digital agricultural environment being created by the government.
Digital Green
It is an award winning social enterprise.
It is leveraging modern technology to help small and marginal farmers increase their productivity and income, strengthen their agency, and build community-level resilience.
It was founded by Rikin Gandhi, a technocrat and a social development enthusiast.
It is working with the State Governments in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
It is serving more than 25 lakh farmers and has increased the capacity of more than 4000 front line workers.
5. “Yaya Tso” declared as Ladakh's first Biodiversity Heritage Site
Tags: Environment National News
Recently Yaya Tso has been declared as the first Biodiversity Heritage Site of Ladakh.
An overview of the news:
Yaya Tso is a lake situated at an altitude of 4,820 metres in Ladakh which is known as the paradise of birds.
It is a nesting site for birds and animals such as bar-headed goose, black-necked stork and Brahminy duck. It is one of the highest breeding grounds of black-necked stork in India.
Yaya Tso Lake has been declared as the first Biodiversity Heritage Site of Ladakh under Biodiversity Act by Chumathang Village Panchayat, Biodiversity Management Committee in association with Secure Himalaya Project.
Secure Himalaya Project:
It is a scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.
It was launched in the year 2017 in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
This is a 6 year project and will be functional till the year 2023.
The main objective of this project is to conserve snow leopards in the area.
Under this project, 4 Himalayan states of Jammu and Kashmir (now Union Territory), Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim come.
Biodiversity Heritage Site:
Biodiversity Heritage Sites are areas that contain unique, vulnerable ecosystems in terrestrial, coastal and inland waters and wild species with rich biodiversity, as well as endemic, rare, threatened and keystone species.
As per Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, State Governments are empowered to notify, in the Official Gazette, areas of biodiversity importance as Biodiversity Heritage Sites, in consultation with local bodies.
India's first BHS:
India's first Biodiversity Heritage Site was declared in 2007 at Nallur Tamarind Grove in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Recently the Tamil Nadu government has declared Arittapatti in Melur block of Madurai district as Tamil Nadu's first and India's 35th Biodiversity Heritage Site.
Recently added 5 BHS:
Debari or Chabimura in Tripura (September 2022)
Betling Shib in and around Tripura (September 2022)
Hejong Tortoise Lake in Assam (August 2022)
Borjuli Wild Rice Site in Assam (August 2022)
Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh (July 2022)
6. National School of Drama to organise the 22nd edition of the Bharat Rang Mahotsav
Tags: Festivals National News
National School of Drama (NSD) will organise the 22nd edition of Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) from February 14 to 26, 2023.
An overview of the news
This International Theater Festival will be held in Delhi, Rajahmundry, Jaipur, Ranchi, Jammu, Guwahati, Srinagar, Bhopal, Nashik and Kevadia.
The closing ceremony will be held on February 26 at Kevadia.
This will be the first BRM after a break of two years due to Covid.
The 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav will see a scintillating display of plays and cultural performances, panel discussions on several topics of global and strategic importance of theatre in a global perspective.
The plays will be performed in 16 different Indian languages.
Bharat Rang Mahotsav
Bharat Rang Mahotsav was established two decades ago by the National School of Drama to encourage the development of theater across the country.
It hosts theater companies from around the world, and is the largest theater festival in Asia.
It aims to strengthen international tie-ups and cultural exchange programs with other nations.
It creates a platform to know more about theater traditions across the country.
7. First G20 Tourism Working Group meeting at Dhordo in Kutch region of Gujarat
Tags: Summits National News
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As part of India's G20 Presidency, Gujarat is hosting the first Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting at Dhordo Tent City in the Rann of Kutch from 7 February.
An overview of the news
Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, Union Fisheries Minister Purushottam Rupala and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will officially inaugurate the meeting.
The participants will be senior representatives from G20 member states, invited countries and international organisations.
This will be the second G20 event in the state after the 'Business 20 Inception' event held in Gandhinagar last month.
First Global Tourism Investors’ Summit (GTIS)
The Ministry of Tourism will organise the first Global Tourism Investors Summit (GTIS) in April/May 2023 in New Delhi.
The aim of the conference is to attract global investment in the Indian tourism and hospitality sector along with investments in tourism infrastructure, technology, skill development, startups and more.
Five priority areas in the tourism sector
Green Tourism -Greening of the tourism sector of India for a sustainable, responsible and resilient tourism sector.
Digitalization -Harnessing the power of digitalization to promote competitiveness, inclusion and sustainability in India's tourism sector.
Skills Development -Empowering youth with skills for jobs and entrepreneurship in the tourism sector.
Tourism MSMEs -Nurturing tourism MSMEs. Startups and the private sector to unleash innovation and dynamism in the tourism sector.
Destination Management -Rethinking the strategic management of destinations towards a holistic approach that delivers on the SDGs.
8. Ministry of Education launched "Yuva Sangam Portal"
Tags: National News
“Yuva Sangam Portal” launched at Indira Gandhi Kala Kendra, Delhi by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, chaired by Sports and Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju, Tourism, Culture and North Eastern Affairs Minister G Kishan Reddy Went.
An overview of the news
The Ministry of Education has launched a pilot project with the Yuva Sangam portal under Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat.
Under the project, 1000 youth in the age group of 18 to 30 years (300 from North East, 700 from other states) will be sent to youth exchange programs in the North East and other states of the country.
Through Yuva Sangam, the youth of the North East will get an opportunity to know the tradition, culture, tourist places, food, language and diversity of the eight states of the country and the youth of other states of the country.
Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat:
Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2015 on the occasion of Sardar Vallabh Patel's 140th birth anniversary and was launched by the Finance Minister in the budget for the financial year 2016-17.
It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education.
9. Asia's largest helicopter manufacturing unit inaugurated
Tags: Defence National News
The helicopter manufacturing unit of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Tumkuru, Karnataka has been dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An overview of the news
It is the largest helicopter manufacturing facility in Asia.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of this manufacturing unit in the year 2016 with an aim to promote the vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.
Initially, the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) will be produced in this helicopter factory.
The factory would later be expanded to manufacture Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Indian Multirole Helicopter (IMRH) as well as repair LCH, LUH, civil ALH and IMRH.
This helicopter manufacturing unit is spread over 615 acres, which is by far the largest helicopter manufacturing unit in India.
This manufacturing unit will manufacture 30 helicopters per year, which will be increased to 90 helicopters per year in a phased manner.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited plans to manufacture over 1,000 helicopters in the 3-15 tonne range with a total turnover of over Rs 4 lakh crore in 20 years.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
It was established as Hindustan Aircraft Limited in 1940 by Walchand Hirachand in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Karnataka.
The name was changed to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on 1 October 1964 after it was merged with Aeronautics India Limited by the Government of India.
Its core business is to design, develop, manufacture, repair and overhaul aircraft, helicopters, engines and related systems such as avionics, instruments and accessories.
It comes under the Ministry of Defence.
Headquarters: Bengaluru
10. PMAY-U scheme extended up to next year
Tags: Government Schemes National News
Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) scheme has been extended up to next year, to complete all the houses sanctioned during the last financial year.
An overview of the news
Around 123 lakh houses were sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) during the last financial year, of which 68 lakh houses were completed till last month.
The central government has sanctioned Rs 2 lakh crore under the scheme, out of which Rs 1.36 lakh crore has been released so far.
The survey conducted by the States and Union Territories shows that there is a demand of 112 lakh houses under PMAY-U in the country.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U)
It was launched on 25 June 2015 by the Government of India and it is being implemented by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
The scheme aims to provide pucca houses to all the eligible beneficiaries by 2022.
Around 1.12 crore houses are to be constructed under the scheme.
