Bharat Tap Initiative 

• The Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep S. Puri recently launched the Bharat Tap initiative at the ‘Plumbex India’ exhibition. 
• It will assist AMRUT 2.0, which is designed to realise the aspirations of the ‘New Urban India’ by making all our cities ‘Water Secure’. 
• AMRUT 2.0 will provide 100% coverage of water supply to all Urban households through 2.68 crore tap connections., which will benefit more than 10.5 crore people.

The key objectives of Bharat Tap initiative are:

1. To provide low-flow, sanitary-ware at scale

2.  Reduce water consumption at source

What is the Need to Conserve Water?

• Increased Demand

• Limited Storage

• Over-extraction of Groundwater

• Contamination

• Inadequate Use

• Deforestation & Unscientific Methods

Raisina Dialogue 2022

• On 25th April 2022, the Raisina Dialogue was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

• The chief guest of the event was European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen.

• Theme: "Terra Nova: Impassioned, Impatient, and Imperilled”

• The Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, held annually since 2016.

• It is organized by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

• Over 200 speakers from 90 countries are participating in the seventh edition.

• The Dialogue will have discussions on six thematic pillars -

  • Rethinking Democracy: Trade, Tech and Ideology

  • End of Multilateralism: A Networked Global Order?

  • Water Caucuses: Turbulent Tides in the Indo-Pacific

  • Communities Inc.: First Responders to Health, Development, and Planet

  • Achieving Green Transitions: Common Imperative, Diverging Realities

  • Samson vs Goliath: The Persistent and Relentless Tech Wars

NITI Aayog’s new chairperson?

• The Centre has appointed economist Suman Bery as Niti Aayog’s vice-chairman after Rajiv Kumar stepped down from the post on Friday, April 22.
• Rajiv Kumar had taken over at India’s policy think tank five years ago.
• NITI Aayog or the National Institution for Transforming India is a ‘policy think tank’ of the Indian government which provides inputs regarding the different programmes and policies of the government. 
• The government of India replaced the old planning commission started in 1950 with a new institution called NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015.
• It works under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.

NITI Aayog’s entire gamut of activities can be divided into four main heads:

·  Policy and Programme Framework

·  Cooperative Federalism

·  Monitoring and Evaluation

·  Think Tank, and Knowledge and Innovation Hub

Bodh Gaya to have India's largest reclining statue of Lord Buddha

• Built by Buddha International Welfare Mission, the statue will be 100 feet long and 30 feet high.

• It is being made with fiberglass and built by sculptors from Kolkata.

• The idol of Lord Buddha is in Mahaparinirvana Mudra which has great importance in Buddhism. 

• Before Mahaparinirvana, Lord Buddha preached to his disciples in this posture. Bodh Gaya is the place of enlightenment of Lord Buddha, so this idol is being built here.

• The four most important pilgrimage sites related to Gautam Buddha’s life are Bodh Gaya, Kushinagar, Lumbini, and Sarnath.

• Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.

World Press Freedom Index

• India has fallen eight places from 142 to 150 in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index of 180 countries.

• The theme this year: Journalism under digital siege.

World Freedom Index: 2022

• The Index has been released every year by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002.

• RSF is an international non-profit organization governed by principles of democratic governance.

OBJECTIVE:

• Its objective is to compare the level of press freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories.

• Five new indicators have been inducted this year to compile the Index: the political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and security.

This year NORWAY grabbed the top position while NORTH KOREA remained at the bottom of the list among 180 countries.

Geneva Conventions guidelines during wartime

• Although Russia is a party to the Geneva Conventions, its armed forces continue to systematically and defiantly violate international humanitarian law in Ukraine.

• The Geneva Conventions are a set of four treaties, formalised in 1949, and three additional protocols.

• It contains the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting and those who can no longer fight.

• First Geneva Convention protects wounded and sick soldiers on land during war.

• Second Geneva Convention protects wounded, sick and shipwrecked military personnel at sea during war.

• Third Geneva Convention applies to prisoners of war.

• Fourth Geneva Convention protects civilians, including those in occupied territory.

Common Article 3

• Article 3, common to the four Geneva Conventions, marked a breakthrough, as it covered, for the first time, situations of non-international armed conflicts.

• They include traditional civil wars, internal armed conflicts that spill over into other States or internal conflicts in which third States or a multinational force intervenes alongside the government. 

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant seized

• Recently, Russian forces shelled the buildings & seized the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Powerplant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

• It is located on the banks of the Dnieper river, just 200 kilometers from the conflicted Donbas region where Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces have been fighting.

• Zaporizhzhya is one of the four operating NPPs in the country and has been operating since 1984.

• It accounts for about 40% of the total electricity generated by all the Ukrainian NPPs and one-fifth of Ukraine’s annual electricity production.

• The Zaporizhzhya NPP consists of six Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) units.

• PWR is a type of light water reactor that uses ordinary water as the moderator and coolant.

• The Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors are fuelled by Natural Uranium while Light Water Reactors (LWRs) are fuelled by Low Enriched Uranium.

Interesting Fact

• In India, some nuclear reactors are kept under “IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards”.

• The nuclear facilities are kept under IAEA safeguards if the source of Uranium, which is the fissile material for a nuclear reactor, is from outside the territory of India or if the new reactor plants are established with foreign collaboration.

Montreux Convention and Ukraine war

• Turkey is set to implement an international convention on naval passage through two of its strategic straits, which would allow them to limit the movement of Russian warships between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

• Montreux Convention is an international treaty that governs Turkey’s Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits.

• In the event of a war, the pact gives Ankara the right to regulate the transit of naval warships and to block the straits to warships belonging to the countries involved in the conflict.

• The Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, connect the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea via the Sea of Marmara.

• It is the only passage through which the Black Sea ports can access the Mediterranean and beyond.

Interesting Fact

• Turkey has used the convention’s powers before. 

• During World War II, Turkey prevented the Axis powers from sending their warships to attack the Soviet Union – and blocked the Soviet navy from participating in combat in the Mediterranean.

Accidental Firing of Missile on Pakistan

• Recently India acknowledged that “technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile”.

• It was speculated that it was a test of one of India’s top missiles, BrahMos. 

What are the Provisions for Testing Missiles? 

• Under the pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles agreement signed in 2005, each country must provide the other an advance notification on the flight test it intends to take for any land or sea-launched, surface-to-surface ballistic missile. 

• Before the test, the country must issue Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) or Navigational Warning (NAVAREA) to alert aviation pilots and seafarers, respectively.

• Also, the testing country must ensure that the launch site is not within 40 km, and the planned impact area is not within 75 km of either the International Boundary (IB) or the Line of Control (LoC). 

What is Brahmos Missile? 

• It is an Indo-Russian joint venture, has a range of 290 km and is the fastest cruise missile in the world

• BrahMos is named on the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva.

• It operates on the "Fire and Forgets" principle i.e it does not require further guidance after launch.

•  It can be fired from anywhere, is nuclear-capable, and can carry warheads of 200-300 kg.

INS Visakhapatnam formally dedicated to city of destiny

• Recently, the India-made stealth guided-missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam was formally affiliated to the Visakhapatnam port.

• This marks the formal induction of the first of the four ‘Visakhapatnam’ class destroyers.

• The ship is on her maiden visit to the port city for participating in the MILAN-2022.

• ‘The warship has Dolphin’s Nose and ‘Krishna jinka’, the State animal, as its emblem.

• The ship symbolises India's matured shipbuilding capability and quest for the Make in India initiative towards achieving 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

• INS Visakhapatnam is the lead ship of P15B class of guided-missile stealth destroyers and was commissioned on November 21 last year.

• Under the P-15B (Visakhapatnam Class), a total of four warships were planned (Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal, Surat) to be inducted.

• These ships are amongst the most technologically advanced Guided Missile Destroyers of the world,

• It is also equipped to be deployed to fight in Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.

• These ships are also equipped with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and long-range Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAM).

Indian Navy’s Multi-National Exercise MILAN-2022

• The eleventh edition of MILAN is being hosted by the Eastern Naval Command at the City of Destiny, Vishakhapatnam for the first time. 

• MILAN 22 is being conducted over a duration of 9 days in two phases with the harbour phase scheduled from 25 to 28 February and Sea Phase from 01 to 04 March.

• Theme of the MILAN 2022 exercise is ‘Camaraderie – Cohesion – Collaboration’ which aims to project India as a responsible maritime power to the world at large. 

• MILAN is a biennial multilateral naval exercise incepted by Indian Navy in 1995 at Andaman and Nicobar Command.

• Originally conceived in consonance with India’s ‘Look East Policy’, MILAN expanded in ensuing years with the GOI’s ‘Act East policy’ and Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) initiative, to include participation from island nations in the Western IOR as also IOR littorals.

• Navy to Navy interactions enhance mutual understanding, cooperation and inter-operability between maritime forces.

• MILAN 22 will witness its largest-ever participation, with more than 40 countries sending their warships/high-level delegations. 

Exercise EKUVERIN 

• 11th Edition of Exercise EKUVERIN between India & Maldives will be conducted at Kadhdhoo Island, Maldives from 06 to 19 December 2021.

• The exercise will enhance synergy and inter-operability between Armed Forces of both the nations in terms of understanding transnational terrorism both on land and at sea, conducting Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency Operations and sharing best military practices and experiences.

• India and Maldives have been conducting Exercise Ekuverin meaning ‘Friends’ in the Maldivian language since 2009.

• The Defence Ministry said the exercise will go a long way in strengthening India’s relations with Maldives amidst emerging security dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region.

Dual-mode locomotive – NAVDOOT

After e-bikes, e-cars, and e-buses, the country's dream of having an e-train is coming true. Navdoot is a battery-operated dual-mode locomotive built by West Central Railway.

Navdoot is currently being used on a trial basis during train shunting at Jabalpur, Mudwara, and other stations. After clearing all the trials, it will be used more widely.

Function and Capacity

·  The engine runs on both modes i.e. battery and electricity.

·  The e-engine can pull 18 coaches at a speed of 30 kmph. 

·  It has 84 batteries and has a capacity to pull 400 tonnes at present. 

·  Railways will save 1000 liters of diesel every day with this new locomotive. 

This Dual Mode Locomotive has also received the Best Innovation Award from the Railway Board.

West Central Railway: It is one of the 18 zones of the Indian Railways, which provides rail route coverage to the west-central region of the country. WCR serves eastern & central Madhya Pradesh, southern Uttar Pradesh, and northeastern Rajasthan.

ISRO’s VENUS MISSION

After Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan, ISRO is now planning to launch Shukrayaan-I, which will be the country’s first orbiter mission to Venus by December 2024. 

AIM- The mission's goal is to investigate Venus' toxic and corrosive atmosphere, which is covered with sulfuric acid clouds.

FACTS:

Venus has been called Earth’s twin because of the similarities in their masses, sizes, and densities and their similar relative locations in the solar system.

It spins from east to west, the opposite direction from all other planets in our solar system but the same as Uranus.

ISRO: It is the national space agency of India, headquarter in Bengaluru.

It works under Department of Science, which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India.

Shigella Bacteria

The recent instance of probable food poisoning in Kasaragod district, Kerala, is thought to be the result of a shigella bacteria outbreak.

Shigella is a bacterium that belongs to the enterobacter family — a group of bacteria that reside in the intestine and causes an infection called SHIGELLOSIS.

It is the world's second-biggest cause of diarrhoea and the third-highest cause of death in children under the age of five.

Transmission: It is generally transmitted through the faecal-oral route by person-to-person contact, contact with faeces from an infected person.

Indirect contacts such as by flies, fomites, contaminated food or water

Incubation period: 1-4 Days.

Species: Shigella flexnerii, Shigella sonnei, Shigella bodyii, Shigella dysenteriae

Treatment Protocol

1. Hydration
2. Antibiotics
3. Public Hygiene

According to the WHO priority pathogen list for R&D of new antibiotics, Shigella comes under MEDIUM PRIORITY BACTERIA.

India Semiconductor Mission

Recently, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology has inaugurated the first-ever Semicon India 2022 Conference under India Semiconductor Mission in Bengaluru.

• Semicon India – 2022 has been organized to take forward the vision of the Prime Minister to make India a leader in electronics manufacturing, semiconductor design, manufacturing & innovation.

• The theme of the Conference: Catalyzing India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem.

• ISM-  launched in 2021 under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY).

• It is part of the comprehensive program for the development of a sustainable semiconductor and displays ecosystem in the country.

India needs to drop the dream of swadeshi semiconductors. Instead, it should aim to become a key player in a trusted, plurilateral semiconductor ecosystem that keeps key adversaries out.

Cyclone ASANI 

• Cyclone Asani is expected to grow into a 'severe cyclone' over the Southeast portions of the Bay of Bengal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

• The name Cyclone Asani has been given by Sri Lanka that means ‘wrath’ in Sinhalese.

• The IMD classifies cyclones on the basis of the Maximum Sustained Surface Wind Speed (MSW) they generate.

• The IMD provides cyclone and storm surge advisories to 13 countries across the north Indian Ocean.

Occurrence of cyclones in INDIA:

• The cyclone season in India occurs twice a year, from March to May and October to December. 

• Cyclones under rare circumstances, strike between June and September.

Tropical cyclones, are powerful circular storms that form over warm tropical oceans and are marked by low air pressure, strong winds, and heavy rain.

There are six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) worldwide and five regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres, which are mandated for issuing advisories and naming of cyclonic storms.

IMD is one of the RSMCs and is tasked with giving a title to a cyclone that forms over the northern Indian Ocean.

High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People 

• India has joined the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, a group of more than 70 countries encouraging the adoption of the global goal to protect 30×30 targets. 

Key facts: 

• The High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People was initiated at the “One Planet Summit” in Paris in January 2021. The coalition aims to promote an international agreement to protect at least 30 % of the world's land and ocean by 2030 (30×30 targets). 

• The 30×30 target is a global target that aims to halt the accelerating loss of species and protect vital ecosystems that are the source of our economic security. 

• HAC is co-chaired by Costa Rica and France, and by the United Kingdom as Ocean co-chair. 

• Members: At present, the group has more than 70 countries encouraging the adoption of the global goal to protect 30×30. The members of HAC currently include a mix of countries in the global north and south. These include European, Latin American, Africa and Asia countries are among the members. 

• India is the first BRICS country to join the HAC. 

NOTE: The HAC coalition aims to promote an international agreement in order to protect at least 30 percent of the world's land and ocean by 2030. 

WHO: Revise Air Quality norms 

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced a tight revision in its air quality guidelines (AQG). This is the first revision in the global air quality by WHO since 2005. 

• In the new guidelines, WHO has lowered the acceptable exposure levels to key pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter (PM). 

Key Highlights: 

• The guidelines recommend new air quality levels to protect the health of populations, by reducing levels of key air pollutants, some of which also contribute to climate change. 

• By striving to achieve these guideline levels, countries will be both protecting health as well as mitigating global climate change. 

• WHO move sets the stage for eventual shifts in policy in the government towards evolving newer stricter standards. 

• WHO’s new guidelines recommend air quality levels for 6 pollutants, where evidence has advanced the most on health effects from exposure. 6 classical pollutants include particulate matter (PM 2.5 and 10), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). 

Impact on India 

• The move does not have an immediate effect in India as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) do not meet the WHO’s existing standards. 

• The government has a dedicated National Clean Air Programme that aims for a 20% to 30% reduction in particulate matter concentrations by 2024 in 122 cities, keeping 2017 as the base year 

Steps taken by India: 

• Under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), India is committed to minimise 20-30 percent of air pollution in cities. 

• NCAP was launched in January 2019 by the MoEFCC. It is the first-ever effort in India to frame a national framework for the management of air quality with a time-bound reduction target.

WHO: Revise Air Quality norms

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced a tight revision in its air quality guidelines (AQG). This is the first revision in the global air quality by WHO since 2005. 

• In the new guidelines, WHO has lowered the acceptable exposure levels to key pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter (PM). 

Key Highlights: 

• The guidelines recommend new air quality levels to protect the health of populations, by reducing levels of key air pollutants, some of which also contribute to climate change. 

• By striving to achieve these guideline levels, countries will be both protecting health as well as mitigating global climate change. 

• WHO move sets the stage for eventual shifts in policy in the government towards evolving newer stricter standards. 

• WHO’s new guidelines recommend air quality levels for 6 pollutants, where evidence has advanced the most on health effects from exposure. 6 classical pollutants include particulate matter (PM 2.5 and 10), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). 

Impact on India 

• The move does not have an immediate effect in India as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) do not meet the WHO’s existing standards. 

• The government has a dedicated National Clean Air Programme that aims for a 20% to 30% reduction in particulate matter concentrations by 2024 in 122 cities, keeping 2017 as the base year 

Steps taken by India: 

• Under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), India is committed to minimise 20-30 percent of air pollution in cities. 

• NCAP was launched in January 2019 by the MoEFCC. It is the first-ever effort in India to frame a national framework for the management of air quality with a time-bound reduction target.

World Bank’s REWARD Project

• The World Bank, the Government of India, the State Governments of Karnataka, and Odisha, have signed a USD 115 million deal for the Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development (REWARD) Programme. 

• It aims to help national and state governments adopt improved watershed management practices to help farmers become more resilient to climate change, improve incomes, and promote higher productivity.

• The objectives of the Project are to improve water and land conservations as well as prevent soil run-off, harvest rainwater, regenerate natural vegetation, and replenish the groundwater table.

• This project Is a joint initiative of the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development in association with the World Bank.

• It is planned as a six-year project and is one of the largest water management programs around the world.

24th Financial Stability Report

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently released the 24th issue of the Financial Stability Report.

Report Key Highlights 

• The global economic recovery has been losing momentum in the second half of 2021 in the face of resurfacing COVID-19 infections.

• The corporate sector is gaining strength and bank credit growth is improving.

• The capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) rose to a new peak.

• FSR is published by RBI bi-annually on behalf of the Financial Stability and Development Council, an umbrella group of regulators which gives an overview of the health of India's financial system.

• It reflects the collective assessment of the Sub Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on risks to financial stability and the resilience of the financial system in the context of contemporaneous issues relating to development and regulation of the financial sector.

RBI Monetary Policy Committee 

• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 percent, in order to revive & sustain growth. 

Key points: 

• The Monetary Policy Committee has also ensured that inflation remains within the target. Reverse repo rate was also kept as earlier at 3.35 per cent. 

• Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and bank rate also remain unchanged at 4.25 per cent. 

• For the financial year 2021-22, CPI inflation is projected at 5.3 per cent.

• As per RBI, food inflation is predicted to remain muted in upcoming months, as a result of record production of food-grains.

About Monetary Policy Committee (MPC): 

• The RBI has a government-constituted Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) which is tasked with framing monetary policy using tools like the repo rate, reverse repo rate, bank rate, cash reserve ratio (CRR). 

• It has been instituted by the Central Government of India under Section 45ZB of the RBI Act that was amended in 1934. 

• Functions: The MPC is entrusted with the responsibility of deciding the different policy rates including MSF, Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate, and Liquidity Adjustment Facility.

National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP)

• The Union Government recently launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) in an effort to list out the government’s infrastructure assets to be sold over the next four-years. 

Key Highlights 

• The programme has the objective to unlock the value of investments in brownfield public sector assets by tapping institutional and long-term capital, which can thereafter be leveraged for public investments. 

• The four-year National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) will unlock value in brownfield projects by engaging the private sector, transferring to them the rights but not the ownership in projects. 

• The components of project are roads, railways and power sector assets which will comprise over 66 per cent of the total estimated value of the assets to be monetised, with the balance coming from sectors including telecom, mining, aviation, ports, natural gas and petroleum product pipelines, warehouses and stadiums. 

• Currently, only assets of central government line ministries and CPSEs in infrastructure sectors have been included. Monetization through disinvestment and monetization of non-core assets have not been included in the NMP. 

Significance: 

• Asset Monetisation needs to be viewed not just as a funding mechanism, but as an overall paradigm shift in infrastructure operations, augmentation and maintenance considering the private sector’s resource efficiencies and its ability to dynamically adapt to the evolving global and economic reality.

• Considering that infrastructure creation is inextricably linked to monetisation, the period for NMP is co-terminus with the balance period under National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) i.e for FY 2022-2025. 

• NMP is indicatively valued at Rs 6.0 lakh crore for 4 years.

New Chief Election Commissioner 

• Former Union Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

• He will oversee the 2024 national polls as well as the assembly elections in some states during his tenure including Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, etc.

Election Commission of India 

• Election commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority which administers elections to Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies and offices of the President and Vice President in the country.

• It is constituted under Article 324 of the Indian constitution. 

• It consists of three members- One Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.

• The office term is 6 years or until they attain 65 years, whichever happens first.

World’s Highest Tunnel: Shinku La Pass

• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will build the World’s Highest Tunnel at Shinku La Pass, which is at an altitude of 16,580 feet.

• This tunnel will be connecting Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh.

• Project Yojak has been set up by the central government to execute this ambitious project.

• The tunnel’s south portal will be at Shinku La and north portal will be at Lakhang.

• This tunnel will aid in the economic development of the Zanskar Valley by reducing travel time between Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh, once it is completed.

 ABOUT BRO:

• The organization falls under the control of the Ministry of Defence since the year 2015.

• This organization plays an important role in the development of infrastructure in the border areas of the nation.

• The headquarter of BRO is in NEW DELHI.

Cerebral palsy: The condition that led to Satya Nadella's son's demise

• Recently, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s son Zain, who was born with Cerebral Palsy (CP), died at the age of 26

• While Cerebral means related to the brain, Palsy means weakness or problems with using the muscles. Hence, Cerebral Palsy is a group of disorders that affect movement and muscle tone or posture.

• CP is caused by damage in the brain which results in abnormal development due to lack of oxygen in the brain, at the time of birth

• Several other factors can also lead to problems with brain development like maternal infections, traumatic head injury, genetic mutations, bleeding into the brain, infant infections and fatal stroke.

• CP can affect the whole body, or just be limited to one or two limbs, or one side of the body. Usually, signs and symptoms include problems with movement and coordination, speech and eating, and development, besides other issues.​​​​​​​

• There are no methods currently to fully prevent cerebral palsy from developing during pregnancy, delivery or shortly after birth. This is because the exact cause of the disease is not fully understood yet.

 Legendary Australian Spinner Shane Warne

• Shane Warne was a cricketer from Australia who passed away on 4th March 2022.

• Warne was arguably the greatest leg-spinner of all time, with a tally of 708 Test match wickets. 

• Shane Warne helped his nation win the World Cup in 1999.

• In 2008, he was appointed as the captain of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.

• He was the second-highest wicket-taker in Test history and only Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has more wickets than him with 800.

• He made his Test debut in 1992 against India and gained international fame when he delivered the ball of the century in 1993, one to remember for ages for cricket fans around the world.

• Warne was named as one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Century for his unparalleled achievements in a 15-year career between 1992 and 2007.

Ken-Betwa River Interlinking Project- Schemes and Policies 

• The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the funding and implementation of the Ken-Betwa river interlinking project at a cost of ₹44,605 crores.

• It will be the first major centrally-driven river interlinking project in the country.

• The Ken-Betwa Link Project lies in Bundelkhand, a drought-prone region, which spreads across 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

• The project involves transferring of water from the Ken river to the Betwa river through the construction of the Daudhan dam and a canal linking the two rivers.

• The project is expected to provide annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectares, drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.

Ken is one of the major rivers in the Bundelkhand region of Central India. It flows through the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Betwa river rises in the Vindhya range. It flows northeast through Madhya Pradesh and Orchha to Uttar Pradesh. 

Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021

• The Government of India notifies Copyright (Amendment) Rules,2021. The amendment has been made to bring the existing Copyright rules in the country with parity with the other relevant legislation.

Key Highlights:

• In India, the copyright regime is governed by the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Copyright Rules, 2013.

• The Copyright Rules, 2013 were last amended in the year 2016.

• The objective of the amendments is to bring the existing rules in parity with other relevant legislations.

• Publication of a copyrights journal has been incorporated eliminating the requirement of publication in the Official Gazette.

• The journal would be available at the website of the Copyright Office.

• In order to encourage accountability and transparency, new provisions have been introduced to deal with the undistributed royalty amounts and the use of electronic and traceable payment methods while collecting and distributing royalties.

About Copyright:

• Copyright is intellectual property. It gives the owner the exclusive right to make copies of his or her creative work. It can be education, artistic, literary, or music.

• According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, Copyright protects two types of rights. They are Economic rights and moral rights.

ULPIN: Unique Land Parcel Identification Number 

• The Centre plans to issue a 14-digit identification number to every plot of land in the country within a year’s time.

• The Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) scheme has been launched in 10 States in the year 2021 and will be rolled out across the country by March 2022.

Key Points:

• It will subsequently integrate its land records database with revenue court records and bank records, as well as Aadhaar numbers on a voluntary basis.

• The scheme will enhance the service deliveries to the citizens of the country and will also function as inputs to the schemes of the other sectors like Agriculture, Finance, Disaster Management etc.

• The ULPIN is described as “Aadhaar for land”. The number will be used to identify every surveyed parcel of land.

• The ULPIN is a fourteen-digit Alpha Numeric ID.

• The identification number is to be launched based on the latitude and longitude coordinates of the land parcel.

Smart Anganwadis 

• The Government of Kerala has sanctioned ₹9 crore for the conversion of conventional anganwadis into “smart” anganwadis with better amenities.

• The smart anganwadis will be built in order to provide early childhood care in a phased manner.

• These facilities will be established with the aim of making it more child-friendly. This way these facilities will help to nurture mental and physical development of children. 

• Anganwadi scheme is a type of rural child care centre that was started in the year 1975 by the Indian government. This scheme runs under the Integrated Child Development Services program.  It seeks to combat child hunger and malnutrition.