1. Fourth Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation
Tags: International News
The 4th Asia Ministerial Conference on tiger conservation was organized jointly by the Government of Malaysia and the Global Tiger Forum (GTF).
- India is one of the Founding members of the intergovernmental platform of Tiger Range Countries – Global Tiger Forum
- The Asia Ministerial Conference on tiger conservation is an important event for reviewing progress towards the Global Tiger Recovery Programme and commitments to tiger conservation.
- Shri Bhupender Yadav, Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, represented India at this conference.
- India hosted the 3rd Asia Ministerial Conference (3 AMC) in New Delhi from 12th to 14th April 2016.
- India appreciated the efforts of the Government of Malaysia in creating a role model through its “Central Spine and landscape-level planning.”
- The proposed New Delhi declaration is expected to be finalized in the Global Tiger Summit, 2022 to be held at Vladivostok, Russia.
- India’s budgetary allocation for tiger conservation has increased from Rs 185 crore in 2014 to Rs 300 crore in 2022.
- 14 Tiger Reserves in India have already been awarded international CA|TS accreditation
- The government of India has extended Rs 2 lakh life cover to each frontline staff of tiger conservation under e-Sharm, an initiative of the Ministry of Labour and Employment and Rs 5 lakh health cover under Ayushman Yojana.
- Approximately 4.3 million man-days of employment are being generated by 51 Tiger Reserves in India.
- Funds from Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) are being utilized for promoting voluntary village resettlement from core areas of the Tiger Reserves.
- India is now replicating the model of doubling the tiger population with other animals such as lions, snow leopards and dolphins.
2. Koyla Darpan Portal
Tags: National News
Union Ministry of Coal has launched the “Koyla Darpan” Portal to share Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to the Coal Sector
It was launched by Dr. Anil Kumar Jain, Secretary, Union Ministry of Coal.
As an initial step, the portal has the following KPIs -
- Coal/Lignite Production
- Coal/Lignite Offtake
- Exploration Data
- Central Sector Schemes
- Status of Coal Stock in Thermal Power Plants
- Infrastructure Projects
- Allocation of Blocks (CMSP/MMDR)
- Monitoring of Major Coal Mines(CIL)
- Coal Price.
Pralhad Joshi is the Minister in Charge, Union Ministry of Coal.
3. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's grand statue to be installed at India Gate
Tags: National News
In order to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of the great freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and as part of the year-long celebrations, the government has decided to install a grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate.
- The statue will be made of granite.
- The statue would be the symbol of the country’s indebtedness to him.
- Till the work for the statue is completed, a hologram statue of Netaji will be present at the same place. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will unveil the hologram statue of Netaji at India Gate on 23rd January 2022 (Parakram Diwas)
- The 3D hologram statue will be powered by a 30,000 lumens 4K projector and it will be projected on an invisible, high-gain, 90% transparent holographic screen which will not be visible to visitors.
- The size of the hologram statue is 28 feet in height and 6 feet in width.
- On Parakram Diwas 2022, Prime Minister will also confer the Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskars, for the years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
- A total of seven awards will be presented during the ceremony.
- Union government has instituted the annual Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar to recognize and honor the invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by individuals and organizations in India in the field of disaster management.
- The award is announced every year on 23rd January. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 51 lakh and a certificate in case of an institution and Rs. 5 lakh and a certificate in case of an individual.
4. Agri Nutri Garden Week
Tags: National News
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) has observed ‘Agri Nutri Garden Week’ from 10th to 17th January, 2022 through awareness campaign and encouraging establishment of ‘Agri Nutri Gardens’ in the rural households.
- It is the Mission’s agenda to support every rural poor household to have Agri Nutri Garden to fulfill the need of the family’s nutrition and any excess production can also be sold for income generation.
- This is in line with Prime Minister’s vision of enhancing strength of Rural Economy and his clarion call of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
- A total of 76,664 ‘Agri Nuti Gardens’ were established in this week against the target of 7500.
- The initiative is also helping in promoting nutritional awareness, education and behavioral change in rural areas involving farm women and school children.
- It is also helping to harness traditional knowledge through the local recipe to overcome malnutrition and implementing nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and launched development projects in Mauritius
Tags: International News
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, jointly -
- Inaugurated the Social Housing Units Project in Mauritius
- Layed the foundation stone for
- Construction of a state-of-the-art Civil Service College and
- 8 MW Solar PV Farm
- The event was held via video-conference.
- All the projects are undertaken as part of India’s development support
- PM Modi also offered to share learnings of Mission Karmayogi.
- The 8 MW Solar PV Farm project involves the installation of 25,000 PV cells to generate approximately 14 GWh of green energy annually, to electrify approximately 10,000 Mauritian households with an estimated avoidance of 13,000 tons of CO2 emissions every year,
- The Civil Service College project, located in Reduit, is being financed through grant support of US$ 4.74 million, under an MoU signed in 2017 during the visit of Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth to India.
- The social housing project is developed with a grant of US$ 353 mn, which the Government of India extended to the Government of Mauritius in May 2016 as a Special Economic Package (SEP).
- The ceremony also included the exchange of two key bilateral agreements:
- Agreement for the extension of USD 190 million Line of Credit from the Government of India for the Metro Express and other infrastructure projects and
- MoU on the Implementation of Small Development Projects.
Mauritius
Capital - Port Louis
President - Prithvirajsing Roopun
Prime Minister - Pravind Jugnauth
Legislature - National Assembly
Currency - Mauritian Rupee
Official Language - English and French
6. Spice Xchange: India's first virtual platform for spice exporters launched
Tags: National News
Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Shri Som Parkash launched the country’s first virtual platform for spice exports Spice Xchange India at a hybrid event held in Kochi
- Launched by the Spices Board, spicexchangeindia.com is a 3D virtual platform aimed at connecting India’s spice exporters with buyers from around the world.
- The portal uses artificial intelligence (AI)-based technology to connect spice buyers with exporters in India.
- The buyers and sellers can access the database to find potential customers.
- The portal works as an extended office enabling the subscribers to conduct virtual meetings.
7. Gigantic Scroll created under KALA KUMBH installed at Rajpath for Republic Day celebrations
Tags: National News
The gigantic and spectacular 750 m long scrolls created under the unique initiative ‘Kala Kumbh’ have now been installed at the Rajpath for the Republic Day 2022 celebrations.
- These have been diligently researched upon and painted enthusiastically by more than five hundred artists who participated in special workshops or ‘Kala Kumbh’ at two locations, Odisha and Chandigarh.
- At Odisha, the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi collaborated with Kalinga Institute of Technology and Silicon Institute of Technology in Bhubaneswar from 11th – 17th December and at Chandigarh the collaboration was done with Chitkara University from 25th Dec 2021 – 2nd January 2022.
- The magnificent scrolls have been painted by local artists drawn from different regions and largely portray the tales of valour of unsung heroes of the freedom struggle.
8. Amar Jawan Jyoti merged with National War Memorial Flame
Tags: National News
After burning for 50 years, the eternal flame of Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate lawns will be merged with the National War Memorial Flame forever. The decision was taken after it was found that the upkeep of two flames is becoming increasingly difficult.
- The torch was merged with the National War Memorial's torch at a programme on 21st January, 2022 days ahead of Republic Day.
- The ceremony was presided over by the Integrated Defence Staff chief, Air Marshal Balabhadra Radha Krishna.
National War Memorial
The National War Memorial was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2019.
- All military ceremonial events that took place at the India Gate were shifted there after the inauguration.
- The National War Memorial also has the names of all the Indian defence personnel who have lost their lives in different operations from the 1947-48 war with Pakistan to the clash with Chinese troops at Galwan valley.
- The eternal flame is positioned below the central 15.5 m obelisk.
- There are four concentric circles - the "Amar Chakra", "Veerta Chakra", "Tyag Chakra" and the "Rakshak Chakra", where the names of 25,942 soldiers are inscribed on granite tablets in golden letters.
- The memorial also includes six bronze murals depicting the famous battles fought by the Indian Army, Air Force and the Navy in a covered gallery in the Veerta Chakra.
India Gate
The India Gate was built by the British government in the memory of the soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in the First World War between 1914 and 1921. In 1972, the Amar Jawan Jyoti was lit in memory of the Indian soldiers who died in the 1971 war with Pakistan.
9. Supreme Court upholds validity of OBC Quota in NEET Admissions
Tags: National News
The Supreme Court in a judgement delivered on 20 January 2022, upheld the constitutional validity of providing a 27 % quota to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the National Eligibility Cum Entrance (NEET) All India Quota (AIQ) seats for Undergraduates and Postgraduates medical courses noting that “high score are not the sole criteria for merit “ .
- It upheld its January 7 order allowing reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the NEET undergraduate and postgraduate admissions for 2021-22.
- The Supreme Court gave its judgement on a petition filed by doctors in August 2021 challenging reservation for OBC and EWS by the central government in the All India Quota (AIQ) seats in state government medical institutions.
Main points of SC Judgement
- The court also pronounced that there will be no stay on the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) criteria for admission to NEET-PG and the existing criteria (Rs 8 lakh gross annual income cut-off) will apply to the current admission year.
- The Supreme court held that providing reservations to AIQ is a policy decision that would not be subject to judicial review. There was no need for the Central government to seek prior consent of the Court before introducing the OBC quota.
- The court also held that the State government has power to provide reservation under article 15 (4) and (5) of the constitution and was not an exception to article 15(1) which provides that “ State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion ,race,caste,sex,place of birth or any of them” .
- The court held that the power of the State government to craft reservation policy for the OBC amplified the principle of “ Substantive Equality “ as manifested in article 15(1) of the constitution .
The Supreme Court decision on the issue of providing a 10% quota to the EWS category will be finally heard in the third week of March 2022.
Also see December 1 2021 and 10 January 2022 post
10. NTPC top Biomass user in India
Tags: National News
According to the Union Power Ministry , National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has emerged as a leader in biomass users having used approx. 58,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) of biomass for the production of power in its thermal power plant.
- According to the Union Power ministry , approximately 59,000 metric tonnes (MT) of biomass has been co-fired in thermal power plants in the country.
- The Ministry of Power's policy on “Biomass Utilization for Power Generation through Co-firing in Coal based Power Plants” issued in October 2021 mandates all thermal power plants in the country to use 5 to 10% biomass along with coal for power production.
SAMARTH
Sustainable Agrarian Mission on use of Agro Residue in Thermal Power
Plants (SAMARTH ) was launched by the Government of India in 2021 .
Under SAMARTH the Union Ministry of power launched the National Mission on Use of Biomass in coal based thermal Power Plants.
AIM:-
- It was launched by the Government of India to reduce stubble burning and to reduce carbon footprint of Thermal Power Plants while increasing the income of farmers.
- The farmers are encouraged to sell their crop residues,stubble to the power plants and earn extra income instead of burning in the field which increases pollution.
- Thermal power plants are encouraged to use crop residue along with coal for production of power. It will reduce the use of coal for power generation and consequently lesser amounts of carbon will be produced.
Biomass:-
Biomass is plant or animal matter which is used for production of power or heat . For example , woods, cow dung , crops residue etc.
