arts and culture - civilserviceindia · 2021. 1. 22. · kerala called the vadakkan pattukal, and...

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Arts and Culture

Makar Sankrati:

Makar Sankranti or Uttarayan or Maghi or

simply Sankranti has its own historical and

religious significance in India. It is a

festival day in the Hindu calendar,

dedicated to the deity Surya (sun). On this

auspicious day, the Sun enters the

Capricorn zodiac which corresponds with

the month of January as per the Gregorian

calendar. It marks the first day of the sun's

transit into Makara rashi (Capricorn),

marking the end of the month with the

winter solstice and the start of longer days.

Usually, the festival is celebrated on

January 14, but in some exceptions, it takes

place of January 15.

Makar Sankranti is one of the few ancient

Indian festivals that has been observed

according to solar cycles, while most

festivals are set by the lunar cycle of the

lunisolar Hindu calendar. It is the date

from which the northward movement of

the sun begins. The period from Karka

Sankranti to Makar Sankranti is known as

the Dakshinayan.

The harvest festival is celebrated

throughout India, although under different

names and traditions.

They are as follows:

❖ Magh Bihu in Assam,

❖ Maghi (preceded by Lohri) in Pun-

jab, Haryana and Himachal Pra-

desh, popular amongst both the

Hindus and Sikhs,

❖ Sukarat in central India,

❖ Thai Pongal in Tamil Nadu,

❖ Makar Sankramana in Karnataka,

❖ Uttarayan in Gujarat,

❖ Khichidi Sankranti in Uttarakhand

and Uttar Pradesh,

❖ Ghughuti in Uttarakhand,

❖ Makara Sankranti in Odisha, Kar-

nataka, Maharashtra, Goa,

❖ Paush Parbon in West Bengal (also

called Poush Sankranti),

❖ Sankranthi in Andhra Pradesh and

Telangana,

❖ Saen-kraat in Kashmir,

❖ Sukaraat in Madhya Pradesh.

On this day, devotees take a holy dip in

rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari,

Cauvery and Krishna. The bathing is

believed to result in merit or absolution of

past sins and it is also considered a time of

peace and prosperity and many spiritual

practices are conducted on this day.

Every 12 years, along with Makar Sankranti

celebrations, the Kumbh Mela also takes

place, which is one of the world’s largest

mass privileges.

Popularly referred to as til-gud, sesame and

jaggery ladoos or chikkis are distributed on

this day.The sweet signifies that people

must stay together in peace and harmony

despite their differences.

Making of a General A Himalayan Echo:

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Defence

National

50 New Kendriya

Vidyalaya to be setup

through the country

The Union Cabinet,

chaired by the Prime

Minister Narendra Modi

has approved the setting

up of 50 new

KendriyaVidyalayas

It is a book titled “Making of a General-A

Himalayan Echo” authored by (Retd) Lt

General Konsam Himalaya Singh. Manipur

Governor, Dr Najma Heptulla recently

released a book virtually at Durbar Hall,

Raj Bhavan, Imphal.

The book is the memoir of Lt Gen (Dr)

Konsam Himalay Singh. In book features

his journey from a small village in Manipur

to becoming the first person from North

East India to hold the rank of a Three-Star

General of the Indian Army. The book has

also highlighted about Manipur, the “Land

of Emeralds”.

Kalaripayattu:

Kalaripayattu is also known as Kalari. It the

oldest surviving martial art of the country,

with a legacy, of more than 3,000 years. It

is an Indian martial art and fighting style

designed for the ancient battlefield (the

word "Kalari" meaning "battlefield"), with

weapons and combative techniques that

are unique to India. This style of martial art

originated in Kerala.

This martial art includes strikes, kicks,

grappling, preset forms, weaponry and

even healing methods.Practitioners of

Kalaripayattu also possess intricate

knowledge of pressure points on the

human body and healing techniques that

incorporate the knowledge of Ayurveda

and Yoga.

Unlike other parts of India, warriors in

Kerala belonged to all castes. Women in

Keralite society also underwent training in

Kalaripayattu, and still do so to this day.

Keralite women such as Unniyarcha are

mentioned in a collection of ballads from

Kerala called the Vadakkan Pattukal, and

are praised for their martial prowess.

Recently, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

released the syllabus of the Kalaripayattu

Academy on January 16 during the

inauguration of the renovated Crafts

Village

The 3,500 sq ft academy in the village is

scheduled to be completed in two months.

Lessons in one of the most famous combat

styles in the world will now be taught at

Kerala Tourism’s Vellar Crafts Village en

route to Kovalam.

Armed Forces Veterans Day:

The Indian Army commemorates Armed

Forces Veterans Day on 14 January every

year as a mark of respect and recognition

of the services rendered by our veterans.

This day also coincides with the retirement

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date of Field Marshal KM Cariappa, OBE,

the first Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of

the Indian Army. He retired on 14 Jan 1953.

The main aim of observing the day is to

strengthen the bond between the Ex-

Servicemen and the serving personnel. This

is also a forum to enhance the satisfaction

levels pertaining to issues of pension and

welfare of veterans and their Next of Kin.

Recently, the fifth Indian Armed Forces

Veterans Day was celebrated to honour

services rendered by veterans of the Army.

This year is being celebrated as Swarnim

Vijay Varsh. It marks 50th Anniversary of

1971 Indo-Pak War.

Speaking on the occasion, Army Chief

General Manoj Naravane said, last year had

been very challenging for the nation and

the Armed Forces. He said, the Armed

Forces bravely stayed at the northern

borders while also battling the pandemic

efficiently. He exuded pride that the Army

had the support of veterans in carrying this

out.

Field Marshal Cariappa: He was the Chief

of Army Staff from 15 January 1949 to 14

January 1953. He was the first Indian

Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the

Indian Army. He led Indian forces on the

Western Front during the Indo-Pakistani

War of 1947. He was appointed

Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army

in 1949. He is one of only two Indian Army

officers to hold the Five-star rank of Field

Marshal; the other being Field Marshal

Sam Manekshaw. He had seen action in

Iraq, Syria, Iran and Burma winning many

laurels and accolades during his sterling

career.

Despite his advancing age, he made many

visits to the front line troops to boost their

morale and motivate them. He was active

till his last breath on 15 May 1993, at the

age of 94 years.

Army Day:

Army Day is celebrated on 15 January every

year in India, in recognition of Field

Marshal Kodandera M. Cariappa's (then a

Lieutenant General) taking over as the first

Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army

from General Fransis Bucher, the last

British Commander-in-Chief of India, on 15

January 1949.

The day is celebrated in the form of

parades and other military shows in the

national capital New Delhi as well as in all

headquarters.

On 15 January 2021, India celebrated its

73rd Indian Army Day in New Delhi.

Army Day marks a day to salute the valiant

soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect

the country and its citizens. Gallantry

awards and Sena medals are also awarded

on this day. Param Vir Chakra and Ashok

Chakra awardees participate in the Army

Day parade every year.

Note: In 2020, Captain Tania Shergill

became the first female officer to command

an Army Day parade.

Asmi:

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It is the name of India’s first indigenous

9mm Machine Pistol meaning “Pride”,

“Self-Respect" & “Hard Work”. In a major

boost to the defence calibre of India and

further push to the Atmanirbhar Bharat

initiative of the Central Government,Asmi

has been jointly developed by DRDO and

Indian Army.

It has been designed and developed by the

Infantry School, Mhow and DRDO’s

Armament Research & Development

Establishment (ARDE), Pune. The pistol

has been developed in a record time of four

months.

The Machine Pistol fires the in-service

9mm ammunition and sports an upper

receiver made from aircraft grade

Aluminium and lower receiver from carbon

fibre.

Significance: The weapon has huge

potential in Armed forces as a personal

weapon for heavy weapon detachments,

commanders, tank and aircraft crews,

drivers/dispatch riders, radio/radar

operators, Closed Quarter Battle, counter

insurgency and counter terrorism

operations etc.

The weapon will also find huge

employability with the central and state

police organizations as well as VIP

protection duties and Policing.

The Machine Pistol is likely to have

production cost under rupees 50000 each

and has potential for exports.

Sea Vigil 21:

It is a major exercise to test military

readiness at sea along the coastline of the

country. The second edition of the biennial

pan-India, largest coastal defence exercise

‘Sea Vigil-21’ coordinated by te Indian Nave

kick started from 12 January 2021 and

continued till the 13th of January 2021.

The two-day exercise involving all

stakeholders, states and Central

government agencies set the tempo of

operations, including “transition from

peace to conflict”.

'Sea Vigil 21' is a build-up towards the next

step and level exercise called “Tropex”

(Theatre-level Readiness Operational

Exercise), which is conducted by the Indian

Navy every two years. Indian Navy’s assets,

Customs, Coast Guard, and other maritime

agencies also participated in the exercise.

Both, TROPEX and Sea Vigil together

covered the entire spectrum of maritime

security challenges, which includes the

transition from peace to conflict.

Ministries of Defence, Home Affairs,

Shipping, Petroleum and Natural Gas,

Fisheries and Customs, state governments

and other agencies of Centre and state

facilitated the exercise.

The inaugural edition was conducted in

January 2019

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Economics

ironment

The exercise by the Indian Navy was

undertaken along the entire 7,516 km

coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of

India. It also involved all the 13 coastal

states as well as UTs along with other

maritime stakeholders, which includes

coastal and fishing communities.

The entire coastal security set up was

reorganized after the 26/11 Terror attack at

Mumbai which was launched via the sea

route.

Exercise ‘Sea Vigil-21’ is expected to provide

a realistic assessment of India's strengths

and weaknesses and thus will help in

further strengthening maritime and

national security.

Amresh Kumar Chaudhary:

He is the Incumbent Chief Controller of

MiL Rail. He has recently been awarded the

prestigious "Chief of Army Staff

Commendation" for his outstanding

contribution to Armed Forces during

critical period of Covid19 pandemic and its

various operations.

Mil Rail: Mil Rail is an extension of Traffic

Directorate of Ministry of Railways, headed

by Executive Director (ED) level officer

with office at Army HQ. It works in close

coordination with Ministry of Defence for

Railway operations pertaining to their

requirements.

It is responsible for overall coordination,

strategic planning & execution of Railway

Logistics support to Defence forces during

peace & emergency situations.

A separate control room manages all these

Railway operations which is headed by a

Chief Controller.

RBI:

It refers to the Reserve Bank of India.

The RBI is India's central bank, which

controls the issue and supply of the

Indian rupee. It carries out India's

monetary policy and exercises

supervision and control over banks and

non-banking finance companies in

India. RBI was set up in 1935 under the

Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. It is

headquartered in Mumbai. RBI plays an

important part in the Development

Strategy of the Government of India.

The current Governor of RBI is

Shaktikanta Das.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

constituted a working group on digital

lending including online platforms and

mobile apps.

The working group was constituted to

study all aspects of digital lending activities

in the regulated and regulated financial

sector. The group will ensure that an

appropriate regulatory approach is put in

the digital lending platform. RBI Working

Group on Digital Lending

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The working group consists of both

internal and external members and is

chaired by Jayant Kumar Dash, Executive

Director, RBI.

The move comes in the backdrop of the 3

borrowers in Telangana who committed

suicide over alleged harassment by

personnel of such digital lenders and also

as there were many more complaining of

being subjected to coercive methods after

defaulting on repayments.

Functions of the working group:

❖ It will evaluate digital lending activ-

ities in the country.

❖ It will assess the standards of out-

sourced digital lending activities in

RBI regulated entities.

❖ It will recommend measures to ex-

pand statutory perimeter in digital

lending.

❖ It will suggest regulatory changes to

promote orderly growth of digital

lending.

❖ It will identify risks to be faced by

the unregulated digital lending. It

will mainly focus on risks faced by

consumers and regulated entities

that are exposed to unregulated

digital lending.

❖ It will also recommend measures

for expansion of specific regulatory

or statutory perimeter and suggest

the role of various regulatory and

government agencies. It will also

recommend a robust fair practices

code for digital lending players.

The group will submit its report within

three months.

Benefits of digital lending:

❖ The Digital lending makes the fi-

nancial products and services more

efficient, inclusive and fair.

❖ Earlier digital lending played a pe-

ripheral supporting role. However,

currently, it is now at the core of

the design, delivery and pricing of

financial services and products.

Digital Lending: Digital lending is the

process of offering loans that are applied

for, disbursed, and managed through

digital channels, in which lenders use

digitized data to inform credit decisions

and build customer engagement. It consists

of lending through web platforms or

mobile apps, by taking advantage of

technology for authentication and credit

assessment.

Khadi Prakritik Paint:

It is an eco-friendly, non-toxic paint, called

“Khadi Prakritik Paint” is a first-of-its-kind

product, with anti-fungal, anti-bacterial

properties.

Recently, the Union Minister for Road

Transport & Highways and MSME, Nitin

Gadkari launched the first-of-its-kind and

innovative new paint developed by Khadi

and Village Industries Commission.

The paint has been certified by Bureau of

Indian Standards. Khadi Prakritik Paint

will be available in two forms. They are

distemper and plastic emulsion

Khadi Prakritik Emulsion paint meets BIS

15489:2013 standards; whereas Khadi

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Prakritik Distemper paint meets BIS

428:2013 standards.

The project was conceptualized by

Chairman KVIC in March 2020, and later

developed by Kumarappa National

Handmade Paper Institute, Jaipur (a KVIC

unit).

Benefits of Khadi Prakritik Paint:

❖ It is based on cow dung as its main

ingredient so the paint is cost-

effective and odorless.

❖ Utilization of cow dung will also

clean the environment and prevent

clogging of drains.

❖ It is eco-friendly and non-toxic,

with anti-fungal and anti-bacterial

properties.

❖ The paint is free from heavy metals

like lead, mercury, cadmium,

chromium, arsenic and others.

❖ It will be a boost to local manufac-

turing and will create sustainable

local employment through technol-

ogy transfer.

❖ This technology will increase con-

sumption of cow dung as a raw ma-

terial for eco-friendly products and

will generate additional revenue to

farmers and gaushalas. This is esti-

mated to generate additional in-

come of Rs 30,000 (approx.) per

annum per animal to gaushalas and

farmers.

EBITDA:

It stands for Earnings Before Interest,

Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.

The State-owned undertakings Bharat

Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) and

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL)

have turned EBITDA positive in first 6

months of this financial year 2020-21.

EBITDA is a metric used to evaluate a

company’s overall financial performance. It

is a measure of profits.It is now commonly

used to compare the financial health of

companies and to evaluate firms with

different tax rates and depreciation

policies.

Among its drawbacks, EBITDA is not a

substitute for analyzing a company's cash

flow and can make a company look like it

has more money to make interest

payments than it really does. It also ignores

the quality of a company's earnings and

can make it look cheaper than it really is.

Prarambh:

It is a Startup India International Summit.

The Union Minister of Commerce and

Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food and

Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal recently

inaugurated the two-day ‘Prarambh’,

Startup India International Summit in New

Delhi on 15 January 2021.

The Summit was organized by the

Department for Promotion of Industry and

Internal Trade (DPIIT), under M/o

Commerce & Industry.

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The inaugural event witnessed the

participation by The members of BIMSTEC

(Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral

Technical and Economic Cooperation)

countries.

The ‘Prarambh’ Summit aims to provide a

platform to the startups and young minds

from around the world to come together

and collaborate to work collectively to

come with new ideas, innovation and

invention.

The focus of the Summit was on enhancing

multilateral cooperation and engagement

with countries from around the globe to

collectively develop and strengthen the

startup ecosystems.

The Summit marks the fifth anniversary of

the Startup India initiative. It was launched

by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16

January 2016.

Mealworms:

Mealworms are the larval form of the

mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a

species of darkling beetle. Despite their

name, mealworms are beetle larvae rather

than worms.

Like all holometabolic insects, they go

through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa,

and adult.

Larvae typically measure about 2.5 cm or

more, whereas adults are generally

between 1.25 and 1.8 cm in length.

Mealworms are recently in news as they

may soon find their way into Europe’s

pasta bowls and dinner dishes, after

becoming the first insect approved in the

region as a human food.

The decision taken by the European Food

Safety Agency (EFSA) paves the way for the

yellow grubs to be used whole and dried in

curries and other recipes and as a flour to

make biscuits, pasta and bread.

As they are rich in protein, fat and fibre,

they are likely to be the first of many

insects to feature on European’s plates in

the coming years.

Lake Chad:

Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow,

endorheic freshwater lake in central Africa,

which has varied in size over the centuries.

The lake is located in the Sahelian zone of

West-central Africa. It is mainly in the far

west of Chad, bordering on northeastern

Nigeria.

This lake provides water to more than 30

million people living in the four countries

surrounding it (Niger, Nigeria, Chad and

Cameroon) on the central part of the Sahel.

It is the largest lake in the Chad Basin.

Environment

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The Chari River, fed by its tributary the

Logone, provides over 90% of the lake's

water, with a small amount coming from

the Yobe River in Nigeria/Niger.

Recently, India expressed serious concern

over the security situation in the Sahel and

Lake Chad region in West Africa.

India also condemned terrorist attacks by

Boko Haram in Nigeria and Lake Chad

region and by Islamic State in West Africa.

MEE-ZOO Framework:

It refers to the Management Effectiveness

Evaluation of Indian Zoos framework. The

Union Environment Minister Prakash

Javedkar recently launched the

Management Effectiveness Evaluation of

Indian Zoos (MEE-ZOO) framework.

Under the framework, the MEE of 146

National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries

(NP&WLS) in the country was released.

The report has been prepared by MoEFCC

with technical inputs from Wildlife

Institute of India (WII).

The assessment process of India's National

Park and Wildlife Sanctuaries was adopted

from International Union for the

Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World

Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)

framework of Management Effectiveness

Evaluation (MEE).

The framework proposes guidelines,

criteria and indicators for evaluation of

zoos of the country in a manner which is

discrete, holistic and independent. The

assessment criteria and indicators look

beyond the traditional concepts, include

issues of animal welfare, husbandry and

sustainability of resources and finance.

The MEE-ZOO exercise is moving towards

developing highest standards in Zoos

across India and adhering to core values of

accountability, innovation, transparency,

use of technology, collaboration and

integrity to achieve the mandate of

conservation of endangered species.

National Academies of Sciences:

The proceedings of National Academies of

Sciences were recently attended by the

entomologists from all over the world.

According to the entomologists, the insect

population is declining at rapid rate. The

scientists have named this as Insect

Apocalypse as the Earth is losing 2% of its

insects every year.

The main reasons of Insect Apocalypse is

due to insecticides, climate Change, light

Pollution,herbicides, invasive Species,

changes in land use and intensive

agriculture.

The two main examples are Honey Bees

and Butterflies. The main reason for their

decline is - lack of food, insecticides,

herbicides and parasites.

The insects are important as they are

essential for the proper functioning of the

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ecosystem as pollinators, food for other

creatures and as recyclers of nutrients.

Insects outweigh humanity by seventeen

times.

Insect decline is the worst in North

America and in parts of Europe. The first

Global Scientific review published in the

Biological conservation journal.

The insect decline discussed

internationally for the first time at the

United Nations Conference of Parties to

the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS

COP-13).

According to the Convention on Migratory

Species, insect extinction is to begin. A

draft resolution was prepared at the

convention. The resolution will help

understand die off of the insects and its

effects on migratory species.

India and UAE:

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime

Minister Narendra Modi recently gave its

approval to the Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) on scientific and

technical cooperation between National

Centre of Meteorology (NCM) of the

United Arab Emirates and Ministry of

Earth Sciences (MoES) India.

Key Highlights of the MoU:

The MoU provides for sharing of

knowledge, data and operational products

for meteorological, seismological and

oceanic services, such as Radar, Satellite,

Tide gauges, seismic and Meteorological

stations between both the countries.

The pact will pave the way for both the

countries to exchange experience/ visits in

term of scientists, research scholars and

specialists for the purpose of research,

training, and consultation focused on

climatic information services.

They will also share experience on satellite

data utilization for tropical cyclones

forecasting, and exchange scientific and

technical information related to common

interest activities, deployment of

Meteorological observation networks over

ocean.

Organization of bilateral scientific and

technical seminars/ workshops/

conferences and training courses on

problems related to the fields of

cooperation mentioned in the MoU and of

interest to both countries.

Cooperation to support the Tsunami Early

Warning Centre (TEWC) in the form of

forecast modelling software, specifically

designed to support the Tsunami

forecasting operations.

Cooperate at the field of Seismology which

includes the study of Seismic activities

having the potential to generate Tsunami

waves in Arabian Sea and Oman Sea.

Sharing the real-time seismic data and

cooperation in early warnings of sand and

dust storms are the other key elements of

the MoU.

PMFBY:

National

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It refers to the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima

Yajana. The PMFBY is a Crop Indurance

Scheme that has successfully completes 5

Years of operations on 13th January 2021.

The PMFBY was launched in 2016 by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi. It is an insurance

service scheme for farmers for their yields.

The main objective of this scheme is to

reduce the premium burden on farmers

and ensure early settlement of crop

assurance claim for the full insured sum.

It was formulated in line with One Nation–

One Scheme theme by replacing earlier

two schemes Modified National

Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS)

and National Agricultural Insurance

Scheme (NAIS).

The scheme is being administered by

Ministry of Agriculture and is implemented

by empanelled general insurance

companies.

The scheme is compulsory for loanee

farmers availing Crop Loan /KCC account

for notified crops and voluntary for other

others.

The Scheme covers all Food & Oilseeds

crops and Annual

Commercial/Horticultural Crops for which

past yield data is available and for which

requisite number of Crop Cutting

Experiments (CCEs) are being conducted

under General Crop Estimation Survey

(GCES).

National Youth Day:

The day is also called the “Yuva Diwas”.

The National Youth Day is celebrated on

the 12th of January every year to

commemorate the birth anniversary of

Swami Vivekananda . The day aims to

create awareness about rights of people in

India. It educates people to behave

properly in the country.

The National Youth Day being observed by

the Nation in 2021 is the 158th birth

anniversary of Swami Vivekanand. The

theme for National Youth Day 2021 is

‘Channelizing Youth Power for Nation

Building‘.

In 1984 the Government of India (GoI)

declared this day as National Youth Day

and since 1985 the event is celebrated in

India every year. The GoI quoted that ' the

philosophy of Swamiji and the ideals for

which he lived and worked could be a great

source of inspiration for the Indian Youth

Day.

Swami Vivekananda: Born on January 12,

1863, in Kolkata was one of India's greatest

leaders and believers of youth power. He

played significant role in the growing

Indian nationalism of the 19th and 20th

century, reinterpreting and harmonizing

certain aspects of Hinduism. He

participated a lot during major movements

against the British. His teachings and

philosophy applied this reinterpretation to

various aspects of education, faith,

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character building as well as social issues

pertaining to India, and was also

instrumental in introducing Yoga to the

west.

Swami Vivekananda's famous speech at the

World's Parliament of Religions in 1893 at

Chicago had changed the way the world

looked at India. He introduced Indian

Vedanta and philosophies of Yoga to the

world which put India on the world's

spiritual map.

He founded the Ramakrishna Math and

Mission on 1 May 1897. In 1898, he

established Belur Math.

Some of the inspirational quotes by Swami

Vivekananda:

• "Talk to yourself once in a day, oth-

erwise you may miss meeting an in-

telligent person in this world."

• "You cannot believe in God until

you believe in yourself."

• "We are what our thoughts have

made us; so take care about what

you think. Words are secondary.

Thoughts live; they travel far."

• "Our duty is to encourage everyone

in his struggle to live up to his own

highest idea, and strive at the same

time to make the ideal as near as

possible to the Truth."

• "Arise! Awake! and stop not until

the goal is reached."

2nd National Youth Parliament

Festival:

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi

addressed the valedictory function of the

second National Youth Parliament Festival

(NYPF) on 12th January 2021 via video

conferencing. The Event took place in the

Central Hall and the Prime Minister also

heard the views of the three young national

winners of the Festival.

NYPF is celebrated every year from January

12 to 16. January 12 is the birth anniversary

of Swami Vivekananda and is also observed

as National Youth Day. The first NYPF was

organised from January 12 to February 27,

2019, with the theme 'Be the Voice of New

India and Find solutions and Contribute to

Policy', in which 88,000 youngsters

participated.

The purpose of the NYPF is to hear the

voices of youngsters aged 18 to 25 and are

set to join various professions in coming

years, including public services

NYPF is based on the ideas presented by

the Prime Minister in his Mann Ki Baat

Address on New Year's Day Eve, 2017.

The 2nd NYPF was launched on December

23, 2020 through a virtual mode.

India and Surinam:

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International

The Indian-origin President of the Republic

of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi,

will be the chief guest at India’s Republic

Day parade on January 26.

India had initially invited Boris Johnson to

be the chief guest but the British PM had

to cancel his visit in view of the grim

coronavirus situation back home.

Earlier this week, Santokhi was the chief

guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

Convention, held by the Ministry of

External Affairs and he delivered the

keynote address.

Chandrikapersad Santokhi was sworn in as

the president of Suriname in July 2020,

when his party, the Progressive Reform

Party, won 20 of the 51 seats in the

elections.

Surinam: Suriname officially known as the

Republic of Suriname is a country on the

northeastern Atlantic coast of South

America. It is one of the smallest countries

in South America. It is bordered by the

Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana

to the east, Guyana to the west and Brazil

to the south. It is considered to be a

culturally Caribbean country, and is a

member of the Caribbean Community

(CARICOM). It is the only sovereign nation

outside Europe where Dutch is the official

and prevailing language of government,

business, media, and education. The captal

of Suriname is Paramaribo. The currency

used here is Surinamese Dollar (SRD). The

current President of Suriname is Chan

Santokhi.

USA:

The United States of America (USA),

commonly known as the United States

(U.S. or US) or America, is a country

consisting of 50 states, a federal district,

five major self-governing territories, and

various possessions. The 50 states covers a

vast swath of North America, with Alaska

in the northwest and Hawaii extending the

nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean.

The currency used in USA is United States

dollar - USD also abbreviated US$. The

capital of US is Washington, D.C. The

current President of US is Joe Biden.

Recently, President Donald Trump became

the first US president to be impeached

twice. The House of Representatives voted

to charge him with inciting last week's mob

attack on the US Congress.

Trump was impeached for a historic

second time on January 13 by 232 - 197 vote

by the US House on a single charge of

incitement of insurrection that left five

dead and the Capitol ransacked.

It was supported by all Democrats and 10

Republicans, including Liz Cheney.

14


The Senate will not hold a trial before the

20th of January when Democrat Joe Biden

assumes the presidency, meaning Mr

Trump will escape the risk of being forced

to leave early.

France:

France officially the French Republic is a

country consisting of metropolitan France

in Western Europe and several overseas

regions and territories. It is historically and

culturally among the most important

nations in the Western world. France has

also played a highly significant role in

international affairs, with former colonies

in every corner of the globe. The capital of

France is Paris. The currency of France is

Euro, CFP franc. The current President of

France is Emmanuel Macron. The current

Prime Minister is Jean Castex.

Recently, the Government of France

organized the fourth ‘One Planet Summit’,

through videoconferencing. The summit is

aimed at protecting the world’s

biodiversity.

The Summit was organized in cooperation

with the United Nations (UN) and the

World Bank (WB). The theme of the

Summit was “Let’s act together for nature!”

It was inaugurated by the Secretary-

General of the United Nations António

Guterres, French President Emmanuel

Macron, and President of the World Bank

Group David Malpass.

The summit is an international event that

focused on biodiversity to mobilize

commitments to protect the ecosystems

and make links to human health.

The main aim of the Summit is to promote

worldwide ecological transformation. The

One Planet summit will measure

environmental and climate protection

combined with innovation and economy.

The Summit focused mainly on 4 topics.

They are:

1. The protection of terrestrial and

marine ecosystems,

2. The promotion of agroecology,

3. The mobilization of funding for bi-

odiversity,

4. The link between deforestation,

species and human health.

Kyrgystan:

Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic

and also known as Kirghizia, is a country in

Central Asia. It is a landlocked country

with mountainous terrain. It is bordered by

Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the

west and southwest, Tajikistan to the

southwest and China to the east. The

Capital of Kyrgyzstan is Bishkek. The

national drink is horse milk which is

known as kumyz there. The 40 sun rays on

the flag represent the country's original 40

tribes. The currency of Kyrgyzstan is

Kyrgyzstani som.

15


Recently, Kyrgyzstan's politician Sadyr

Japarov won a landslide victory in

Kyrgyzstan's snap presidential election.

According to the Central Election

Commission, Mr Japarov had won 79% of

votes cast. Mr Japarov, who served time in

jail for taking a rival hostage, will also have

sweeping new presidential powers after

voters by a similar margin opted to amend

the constitution in a referendum.

Kyrgyzstan has been in crisis since

parliamentary elections last October. The

results of those elections were disputed,

leading to protests and the resignation of

then-President Sooronbay Jeenbekov.

Supreme Court:

The Supreme Court of India is the highest

judicial forum and final court of appeal

under the Constitution of India, the

highest constitutional court, with the

power of constitutional review. It was

established on 26 January 1950. It’s

headquartered in New Delhi. The current

CJI of the Supreme Court is Sharad Arvind

Bobde.

Recently, the Supreme Court suspended

the implementation of three farm laws to

end the disagreement between the farmers

and Government of India.

The Indian farmers are protesting against

these three acts as they fear that they

might lose more than they could gain

thereby taking the protest to the streets.

The Farm Laws which were recently

enacted by the Union Government are as

follows:

1. The Farmers' Produce Trade and

Commerce (Promotion and Facili-

tation) Act. The act permits inter-

state and intra-state trade of farm-

ers produce beyond the premises of

Agricultural Produce Market Com-

mittee (APMC). The act abolished

market fee. It allows electronic

trading. It also facilitates lucrative

prices for the farmers through al-

ternative trading channels to pro-

mote barrier free inter-state and in-

tra-state trade of agricultural pro-

duce.

2. Farmers (Empowerment and Pro-

tection) Agreement on Price Assur-

ance and Farm Services Act, 2020.

This act creates a national frame-

work for contract farming between

farmer and buyer.

3. Essential Commodities (Amend-

ment) Act, 2020.

The farmers are protesting against the

Farm Laws because the laws lay the

framework to sell the produce directly to

the corporates. The farmers do not trust

the corporates. According to the farmers,

this might end the Minimum Support Price

(MSP) system in the country.

The protests are high in Haryana and

Punjab because the agriculture in Haryana

and Punjab is high as Green revolution was

India Polity

16


first introduced in these states, so are the

MSP procurement in these states. Around

89% of rice produced in Punjab and 85%

produced in Haryana are procured by the

Government.

Karnataka Cabinet:

Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa

recently expanded his 17 month old

cabinet, inducting seven ministers.

The oath of office and secrecy to the

ministers were administered by Governor

Vajubhai Vala at a ceremony at the Raj

Bhavan. The new ministers are MLAs MLAs

Umesh Katti (Hukkeri), Murugesh Nirani

(Bilgi), Umesh Katti (Hukkeri) and Arvind

Limbavali (Mahadevapura), and MLCs C. P.

Yogeshwar, M.T.B. Nagaraj and R. Shankar.

Excise Minister H. Nagesh is being

requested to step down.

This is the third expansion since Mr

Yediyurappa took over as CM in July 2019.

In August 2019, 17 ministers were inducted,

while in February 2020, ten newcomers to

the BJP were inducted into the Cabinet.

Turlapaty Kutumba Rao:

He is a renowned journalist and Padma

Shri awardee who passed away on 11

January 2021 in Vijayawada.

Born in 1933, Turlapaty Kutumba Rao

entered journalism at the age of 14 and

went on to become an expert in politics,

history and governance. He was an Indian

journalist and orator known for his service

to journalism in Telugu language.

He is reported to have written over 4000

biographies and delivered over 16000

public speeches which has been recorded

by the Telugu Book of Records as a world

record.

He was a secretary to T. Prakasham, former

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and was

known to have mooted the idea of

demarcating states on the basis of language

in 1947, when India became independent.

He was also a chairman of the Andhra

Pradesh Grandhayala Parishad, a policy

making body of the Government of Andhra

Pradesh.

He was a recipient of the title of Guardian

of Telugu from C. Rajagopalachari, then

Governor of Andhra Pradesh. He was

honored in 2002, with the Padma Shri

making him the first journalist from the

state of Andhra Pradesh to receive the

award. He was also a nominee for Padma

Bhushan for the year 2014.

RS Sharma:

Persons in News

17


He is a former Trai chief who has been

appointed as the chairperson of an

empowered committee for the

administration of Covid-19 vaccine.

A ten-member team has been constituted

to be headed by Sharma. This has come

days ahead of the mega vaccination drive is

to start in India.

He has also been included as a member of

the National Expert Group on Vaccine

Administration of Covid-19 that was

formed in August 2020.

Dushyant Dave:

He is the Supreme Court Bar Association

(SCBA) president. He recently resigned

from his post with immediate effect. His

resignation was confirmed by the acting

SCBA Secretary Rohit Panday.

SCBA: It refers to the Supreme Court Bar

Association. SCBA is an Indian bar

association, comprising the practicing

lawyers of the Supreme Court of India.

Hisar Airport:

Hisar Airport belongs to the Civil Aviation

Department, Haryana. It is a public

licensed airport that is suitable for 18 seat

type aircraft. The development of the Hisar

airport was undertaken by the MoCA

(Ministry of Civil Aviation) as it aligns with

the dual objectives of the UDAN scheme;

"letting the common citizen of the country

fly" & make air travel affordable and

widespread in the country.

Recently, Government of India (GoI),

under the Regional Connectivity Scheme –

Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN),

flagged off the first flight to the newly

constructed Hisar airport in Haryana from

Chandigarh to Hisar.

India's first air taxi services in Haryana

from Chandigarh to Hisar were

inaugurated by Haryana Chief Minister

Manohar Lal Khattar.

The flight was flagged off by Manohar Lal

Khattar, Chief Minister, Haryana. The

flagging off marks the operationalization of

the 54th airport under the UDAN scheme.

To date, 307 routes and 54 airports

including 5 heliports and 2 Water

Aerodromes have been operationalized

under the UDAN scheme.

The airline Aviation Connectivity &

Infrastructure Developers Pvt. Ltd (Air

Taxi) was awarded the Hisar – Chandigarh

– Hisar route under the UDAN 4 bidding

process.

The airline has become the first start-up

airline of the country to assist the nation

with Air Taxi services.

UDAN: The full form of UDAN is ‘Ude

Desh ka Aam Nagarik’. UDAN is a regional

connectivity scheme spearheaded by the

Government of India (GoI). This scheme

Places in news

18


aims to develop smaller regional airports to

allow common citizens easier access to

aviation services.

UDAN was launched under the Ministry of

Civil Aviation in 2016.The first flight under

the UDAN scheme was flagged in 2017 from

Bhubaneswar to Varanasi route.

Objectives of the Regional Connectivity

Scheme:

• To provide connectivity to un-

served and under-served airports of

the country through the revival of

existing airstrips and airports.

• To make travel affordable and ac-

cessible to all.

• To boost inclusive national eco-

nomic development, job growth

and air transport infrastructure for

development of all regions and

states of India.

Due to this yojana many underserved and

un served regional airports have received

regular passenger air service. Prominent

amongst these regional airports are

Bhatinda, Bikaner, Agra, Porbandar,

Kadappa, Pondicherry, Kandla, Nanded,

Shirdi.

Hisar: Hisar is the administrative

headquarters of Hisar district of Hisar

division in the state of Haryana in

northwestern India. It has been identified

as a counter-magnet city for the National

Capital Region to develop as an alternative

center of growth to Delhi. The place is

India's largest galvanized iron

manufacturing city.

History of Hisar: The city of 'Hisar', was

originally called 'Hisar Firoza (also Hisar-e-

Firoza) or in other words the 'Fort of Firoz'.

But as the days rolled by, the very word

'Firoza' was dropped from its original

name.

Manipur:

Manipur is a state in northeastern India.It

is bounded by the Indian states of

Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the

south, and Assam to the west; Myanmar

lies to its east. Manipur literally means,

“The jeweled land”. It was formed on 21

January 1972. Its Capital is Imphal. The

current Governor and the Chief Minister of

Manipur are Najma Heptulla and Biren

Singh respectively.

Recently, Manipur has become the 4th

State in the country to successfully

undertake “Urban Local Bodies (ULB)”

reforms stipulated by the Department of

Expenditure, Ministry of Finance in its

letter to the States dated 17th May, 2020.

The state has now joined the three other

States namely, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya

Pradesh and Telangana, who have

completed this reform.

The State has now become eligible to

mobilize additional financial resources of

Rs.75 crore through Open Market

Borrowings.

Reforms in the Urban Local Bodies and the

urban utilities reforms are aimed at

financial strengthening of ULBs in the

States and to enable them to provide better

public health and sanitation services.

19


Economically rejuvenated ULBs will also be

able to create good civic infrastructure.

The reforms stipulated by the Department

of Expenditure to achieve these objectives

include:

• The State will notify (a) floor rates

of property tax in ULBs which are

in consonance with the prevailing

circle rates (i.e. guideline rates for

property transactions) and (b) floor

rates of user charges in respect of

the provision of water-supply,

drainage and sewerage which re-

flect current costs/ past inflation.

• The State will put in place a system

of periodic increase in floor rates of

property tax/ user charges in line

with price increases.

Nubra:

Nubra is a subdivision and a tehsil in the

union territory of Ladakh. Its inhabited

areas form a tri-armed valley cut by the

Nubra and Shyok rivers.

The Shyok River meets the Nubra River (or

Siachan River) to form a large valley that

separates the Ladakh and Karakoram

Ranges. The Shyok River is a tributary of

the Indus River.

Recently, the first ever Ice climbing festival

was celebrated in Nubra valley of Leh.

The Seven Day event was organized by

Nubra Adventure Club.

Ice climbing is a popular winter sport

abroad. Taking the cue, local adventure

sports lovers have explored several ice

climbing spots in Nubra valley to attract

the adventure tourists to the region.

To promote winter tourism in Nubra

valley, Nubra Adventure Club, with the

help of Social activist Dr. Nordan Otzer

organized the Seven Day Ice Climbing

festival.

Leh:Leh is the joint capital and largest

town of the union territory of Ladakh in

India. Leh was an important stopover on

trade routes along the Indus Valley

between Tibet to the east, Kashmir to the

west and also between India and China for

centuries. The Ladakh Autonomous Hill

Development Council (LAHDC) is in

charge of governance in Leh. It has 30

councillors, 4 nominated and 26 elected.

The Chief Executive Councillor heads and

chairs this council. The 'Deputy

Commissioner, Leh' also holds the power of

'Chief Executive Officer of the LAHDC'.

The Current Deputy Commissioner of Leh

district is Sachin Kumar Vaishya.

Health Ministry Kayakalp Awards:

The Kayakalp awards for the year 2019-20

were recently presented to the Public and

Private Health Facilities for high standards

of Sanitation and Hygiene by the Union

20


Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr

Harsh Vardhan.

The awardees are:

District Hospital Reasi of J&K won First

prize under the Kayakalp scheme.

1. Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Post-

graduate Medical Education and

Research (JIPMER) won Second

Prize under the Kayakalp scheme.

2. AIIMS Bhubaneswar was awarded

best central government hospital

under Category B of Kayakalp

Awards for the third consecutive

time.

3. Rairangpur Sub Divisional Hospital

of Mayurbhanj district was awarded

best Sub-divisional hospital com-

munity health centre category of

Kayakalp Awards.

About the Awards:

The government had launched a National

Initiative ‘Kayakalp’ on 15th May 2015 to

ensure hygiene, sanitation and cleanliness

in Public Health Facilities in India.

Health Ministry had collaborated with

Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

and launched Swachh Swasth Sarvatra

programme, under which, one community

health centre (CHCs) situated within ODF

block receives one-time grant of 10 lakh

rupees for undertaking improvement

activities, so that the CHC becomes

Kayakalp CHC.

The factors considered to present Kayakalp

Awards are - Waste Management, Hospital

Upkeep, Sanitation and Hygiene, Infection

Control, hygiene promotion, support

services and beyond hospital boundary.

The main objective of the scheme is to

incentivize public health care facilities that

show high performance in following

protocols, infection control, cleanliness

and sanitation.

It inculcates a culture of peer review of

performance related to sanitation, hygiene,

and infection control.

It shares and creates sustainable practices

related to improving cleanliness in public

health facilities.

Swachh Swasth Sarvatra: Swachh Swasth

Sarvatra scheme was launched in 2016. The

Swachh Swasth Sarvatra aims to strengthen

community health centres in open

defecation blocks, especially in the region

of those Public Health Centres or hospitals

that have received the Kayakalp Awards.

The three main objectives of Swachh

Swasth Sarvatra isto enable Gram

Panchayats where the Kayakalp awarded

Public Health Centres are located to

become Open Defecation Free, to

strengthen the Public Health Centres to

reach the Kayakalp standards through

support of Rs 10 lakhs under the National

Health Mission and to build capacity

through training in sanitation, water and

hygiene.

New Foreign Trade Policy:

India Policy

21


The Union Ministry of Commerce and

Industry recently announced that the new

Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2021-2026, is to

come into effect from April 1, 2021 and will

strive to make the country a leader in

international trade. The policy will be

implemented for 5 years. The goal of this

policy is to make India a 5 trillion USD

economy.

As per the statement by the Commerce

Ministry, the Parliamentary Consultative

Committee of the Ministry of Commerce

and Industry held a meeting on the subject

''New Foreign Trade Policy 2021-26''. The

meeting was chaired by the Minister of

State for Commerce and Industry Hardeep

Singh Puri, and attended by Members of

Parliament (MPs) and senior officers of the

ministry.

The Key Highlights of the new Foreign

Trade Policy:

❖ The District Export Hubs Initiative

will be forming a significant com-

ponent of the new Foreign Trade

Policy.

❖ The policy will aim to boost exports

in both merchandise and services.

❖ It will enhance ease of doing busi-

ness.

❖ It will bring improvements in the

operations of domestic manufactur-

ing and services sector through in-

frastructure support.

❖ The policy will not only bring

changes to regulatory and opera-

tional framework but also lower

transactional costs.

The ministry's arm Directorate General of

Foreign Trade (DGFT) will be formulating

the policy.

Note: The previous foreign trade policy was

implemented between 2015 and 2020. This

policy aimed to boost “Make in India”

initiative.

The policy merged 5 different schemes

under “Merchandise Export from India

Scheme” (MEIS).

The five different schemes were:

1. Market Linked Focus Product

Scheme

2. Focus Product Scheme

3. Focus Market scheme

4. VKGUY

5. Infrastructure Incentive Scrip

Also, the Served from India scheme was

replaced with Service Exports from India

Scheme.

CollabCAD:

It is Collaborative CAD Software software

that is being jointly launched by the

National Informatics Centre (NIC), MeitY

along with Central Board of Secondary

Education (CBSE), Ministry of Education.

CollabCAD is a collaborative network,

computer-enabled software system,

providing a total engineering solution from

2D drafting & detailing to 3D product

design.

This main objective of this initiative is to

provide a great platform to students across

the country to create and modify 3D digital

22


designs with a free flow of creativity and

imagination.

CollabCAD software will be used for

Practical assignments as part of the subject

curriculum for making different types of 3D

designs and 2D Drawings.

CBSE under the leadership of Chairman,

Shri Manoj Ahuja, IAS will introduce

CollabCAD Software for Engineering

Graphics (Subject Code 046) at the Senior

School Level for Class XI and XII.

Students from around 140 plus schools

across the country and the schools in the

Middle East (affiliated with CBSE, New

Delhi) will have access to this software

which can be used for practical projects

and understanding concepts of

Engineering Graphics.

National Informatics Centre, NIC, CBSE,

and Atal Innovation Mission also jointly

released a comprehensive e-book on

CollabCAD 3D modeling.

NIC and CBSE will be signing an MOU for

‘CollabCAD Software Support and Training

for Students and Faculty of Engineering

Graphics in CBSE affiliated Schools’ for a

period of 10 (ten) years in the august

presence of Sh Ajay Sawhney, Secretary,

Ministry of Electronics & Information

Technology.

This MOU aims to develop human

resources and skills around CollabCAD

software and popularize CollabCAD among

the students and faculty.

NECA:

It refers to the National energy

Conservation Awards. The Ministry of

Power, in association with Bureau of

Energy Efficiency (BEE), recently organised

the 30th National Energy Conservation

Awards (NECA) 2020 function. The Chief

Guest at the event was R.K Singh Minister

of State (Independent harge) for Power and

New & Renewable Energy.

The awards were presented to round 57

units from 5 sectors for their energy

conservation and energy efficiency efforts.

During the event, the Standards and

Labelling Programme for Air Compressors

and Ultra High Definition (UHD) TV was

launched on a voluntary basis.

The event also witnessed the launch of the

SAATHEE (State-wise Actions on Annual

Targets and Headways on Energy

Efficiency) Portal.

Standards and Labelling Programme for Air

Compressors and UHD TV: The initiative

launched on a voluntary basis is is expected

to save around 8.41 Billion Units of

electricity for Air Compressors and 9.75

Billion Units for UHD TV till 2030. The

energy consumption standards will be

effective from 01st January 2021.

SAATHEE Portal: It is a Management

Information System (MIS) portal developed

by BEE for facilitating real-time monitoring

of the progress of implementation of

various Energy Conservation endeavours at

State level.

23


Science and Technology

At the event, R.K Singh also highlighted

the PAT (Perform, Achieve & Trade)

scheme being implemented by BEE. It is

being implemented under the National

Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency

(NMEEE). NMEEE is one of the eight

national missions under which the NAPCC

(National Action Plan on Climate Change)

was launched in the country in 2008.

PAT is a regulatory instrument to reduce

specific energy consumption in energy

intensive industries. It is an associated

mechanism to enhance the cost

effectiveness through certification of excess

energy saving which can be traded.

BEE: Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is a

statutory body under Ministry of Power

which is mandated to implement policy

and programmes in energy efficiency and

conservation. The objective of such

initiatives is to reduce energy intensity in

our country by optimizing energy demand

and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases

(GHG) which are responsible for global

warming and climate change. The current

Director-General of BEE is Abhay Bakre.

Atal Tinkering Lab Handbook 2.0:

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog

recently launched its new edition of Atal

Tinkering Lab handbook named ‘The Atal

Tinkering Lab Handbook 2.0’. The

handbook reinforces detailed

establishment and operational processes of

the Atal Tinkering Labs and its journey

towards an innovative ‘Aatmanirbhar

Bharat’.

The ATL Handbook outlines a practical

guidance on structural, selection,

establishment and celebration aspects of

the AIM’s flagship ATL programme. It also

encompasses work done by the AIM team

in a framework using 4 key pillars of the

ATL initiative – Selection, Establishment,

Enablement, and Celebration.

ATLs: It refers to Atal Tinkering

Laboratories. ATLs is one of the flagship

schemes proposed under the Atal

Innovation Mission (AIM). AIM an

initiative of the National Institution for

Transforming India (NITI Aayog),

Government Of India, is establishing Atal

Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs) in schools

across India.

The main idea behind setting up of ATLs is

encouraging the young students to

understand STEM (Science, Technology,

Engineering, and Math) concepts

practically and creatively using the specific

tools and equipment.

An ATL provides a makerspace where

young minds can give shape to their ideas

through hands on do-it-yourself mode; and

learn innovation skills.

To foster entrepreneurship and innovation,

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog has

established over 7000 ATLs across the

country.

NIP:

24


It refers to the National Innovation Portal.

The Union Minister for Science &

Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan recently

dedicated an Innovation Portal, developed

by National Innovation Foundation (NIF) -

India, an autonomous body of the

Department of Science and Technology

(DST), Government of India (GoI), to the

nation.

NIP is currently home to about 1.15 lakh

innovations scouted from common people

of the country, covering Engineering,

Agriculture, Veterinary and Human

Health.

At present, in terms of domain areas, the

innovations cover Energy, mechanical,

automobile, electrical, electronics,

household, chemical, civil, textiles, Farm /

cultivation practice, storage practice, plant

variety, plant protection, poultry, livestock

management, nutraceuticals etc.

Innovation Portal is a step towards

Atmanirbhar Bharat and an excellent

resource for students, entrepreneurs,

MSME’s, Technology Business Incubators

(TBI’s) and common people engaged in a

variety of occupations.

CSIR-NIScPR:

The Union Minister of Science &

Technology Dr Harsh Vardhan recently

inaugurated a new institute of Council of

Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

i.e. CSIR-National Institute of Science

Communication and Policy Research

(CSIR-NIScPR), in New Delhi.

The new institute has been established

consequent to the merger of two

prestigious institutes of CSIR namely,

CSIR-National Institute of Science

Communication and Information

Resources (CSIR-NISCAIR) and CSIR-

National Institute of Science, Technology

and Development Studies (CSIR-

NISTADS).

CSIR-NIScPR will serve the society with its

core areas of science communication and

policy research which has proved to be so

important during the Covid19 pandemic.

The VISION of the institute is to become a

globally respected Think Tank and

Resource Centre for understanding

Science, Technology & Innovation (STI)

Policy Research and Communication. It

aims to promote STI policy studies and

science communication among diverse

stakeholders.

Vanadium:

25


Sports

Arunachal Pradesh is likely to become

India’s prime producer of vanadium. The

Geological Survey of India (GSI) found

promising concentrations of vanadium in

the palaeo-proterozoic carbonaceous

phyllite rocks in the Depo and Tamang

areas of Papum Pare district in Arunachal

Pradesh.

This was the first report of a primary

deposit of vanadium in India, with an

average grade of 0.76% V2O5 [vanadium

pentoxide].

Vanadium mineralization in Arunachal

Pradesh is geologically similar to the “stone

coal” vanadium deposits of China hosted in

carbonaceous shale. This high vanadium

content is associated with graphite, with a

fixed carbon content of up to 16%.

Indian scenario: India is a significant

consumer of vanadium, but is not a

primary producer of the strategic metal.

According to data provided by the GSI,

India consumed 4% of about 84,000 tonnes

of vanadium produced across the globe in

2017.

Global scenario: The largest deposits of

vanadium of the world are in China,

followed by Russia and South Africa.

China, which produces 57% of the world’s

vanadium, consumed 44% of the metal in

2017.

Vanadium: Vanadium is a by-product

obtained from the processing of

Vanadiferous magnetite ores. In its pure

form, Vanadium is soft, ductile and grey in

colour. It is a chemical element with the

symbol V and atomic number 23.

It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable

transition metal which is rarely found in

nature. It is recovered as a by-product from

the slag collected from the processing of

vanadiferous magnetite ores (iron ore).

Vanadium is a high-value metal used in

strengthening steel and titanium. The

addition of the alloy improves the tensile

strength of steel and of the reinforcing bars

that are used for tunnels, buildings, and

bridges. The alloys made of vanadium are

durable in extreme environments and

temperatures and are also corrosion-

resistant.

Khelo India Zanskar Winter Sports &

Youth Festival 2021:

It is a 13-day Zanskar Winter Sports &

Youth Festival 2021 that is being organized

from 18th to 30th January 2021 by the Dept.

of Sports & Youth Services under the Khelo

India banner in collaboration with the

Ladakh Tourism Department.

The UT administration is promoting far-

flung and snowbound Zanskar as winter

tourism destination. The main attractions

of the first-ever Zanskar Winter Sports &

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Youth Festival are Chadar Trek on Zanskar

river, meditation, yoga, ice skating,

Hockey, snow skieing, climbing, traditional

Archery, snow scooter, biking, Yak and

horse riding, Snow sculpturing and food

and cultural festivals.

Zanskar: Zanskar, Zahar (locally) or

Zangskar is also known as Janskar or

Jangskar. It is a subdistrict or tehsil of the

Kargil district, in the union territory of

Ladakh. The administrative centre is

Padum.

Zanskar Range: The Zanskar Range is a

mountain range in the union territory of

Ladakh that separates Zanskar from

Ladakh. Geologically, the Zanskar Range is

part of the Tethys Himalaya, an

approximately 100-km-wide synclinorium

formed by strongly folded and imbricated,

weakly metamorphosed sedimentary series.

The average height of the Zanskar Range is

about 6,000 m. Its eastern part is known as

Rupshu.

Dhaka Marathon 2021:

The marathon was organized on the 10th

January 2021 to commemorate the return of

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

from Pakistan jail to Bangladesh in 1972.

Home Minister of Bangladesh

Asaduzzaman Khan inaugurated the event

at Dhaka Army Stadium. As many as 200

runners took part in the marathon,

organised by the Bangladesh Army.

Jigmet Dolma, an SPO of Ladakh police

from India recently secured the fourth

position in the Dhaka Marathon 2021.

Hicham Lakohi of Morocco came first in

the elite competition of the marathon in

men’s category while Angela Jim Asunde

from Kenya won the women’s category in

the same event.

Two more women runners from India and

a total of 8 athletes participated in the

marathon. In the full marathon, among the

SAARC and local runners, Bahadur Singh

of India became the champion in the men's

category and Pushpa Bhandari of Nepal

became the champion in the women's

category.

The full marathon covered 42.19

kilometres while the half marathon

covered 21.09 kilometres. Athletes from all

over the world including India, Morocco,

Nepal, Kenya, France, Ethiopia among

others participated in various categories of

the event.

BCCI:

It is an acronym of the Board of Control

for Cricket in India. BCCI is the national

governing body for cricket in India. The

board was formed in December 1928 as a

society, registered under the Tamil Nadu

Societies Registration Act. Its headquarters

are in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Grant

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Govan was its first president and Anthony

De Mello its first secretary. The current

President of BCCI is Sourav Ganguly.

Recently, Jay Shah has been named as the

official representative of BCCI for the

International Cricket Council (ICC) Board

meetings. He is the Secretary of the BCCI.

He will be replacing BCCI president Sourav

Ganguly, who was currently representing

India at the ICC Board, but he suffered a

heart condition recently and had to be

admitted to hospital where he underwent

primary angioplasty.

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