1. RUDRESWARA (RAMAPPA) TEMPLE
India’s nomination of Rudreswara Temple, (also known as the Ramappa Temple) at Palampet, Mulugu district, near Warangal in the state of Telangana has been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list. This is India’s 39th World Heritage Site.
About:
- The decision was taken at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO today.
- Ramappa temple, a 13th century engineering marvel is named after its architect, Ramappa.
- The Rudreswara temple was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by RecharlaRudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva. The presiding deity here is Ramalingeswara Swamy.
- The temple complexes of Kakatiyas have a distinct style, technology and decoration exhibiting the influence of the Kakatiyan sculptor.
- The foundation is built with the “sandbox technique”, the flooring is granite and the pillars basalt. The lower part of the temple is red sandstone while the white gopuram is built with light bricks that reportedly float on water.
Source : The Hindu
2. SOHRA
The Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, in his Meghalaya visit, launched the Green Sohra Afforestation Campaign at Sohra (Cherrapunji). He also inaugurated the Greater Sohra Water Supply Scheme.
About:
- The entire area of Cherrapunji is going to be adopted by Assam Rifles for the purpose of plantation.
- Cherrapunji, also known as Sohra is a subdivisional town in the East Khasi Hills district in the Indian state of Meghalaya. It is the traditional capital of ka hima Sohra (Khasi tribal kingdom).
- Sohra has often been credited as being the wettest place on Earth, but for now nearby Mawsynram currently holds that distinction. It still holds the all-time record for the most rainfall in a calendar month and in a year.
- Sohra receives rains from the Bay of Bengal arm of the Indian summer monsoon.
Source : PIB
3. pmcaresforchildren.in
Ministry of Women and Child Development launches web based portal pmcaresforchildren.in to facilitate submission of applications, identification of children eligible to receive support under the 'PM CARES for Children' scheme
About:
- 'PM CARES for Children' scheme was announced by the Prime Minister Modi for supporting children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian or adoptive parents due to COVID-19 pandemic.
- The scheme aims to ensure comprehensive care and protection of children who have lost their parents to COVID pandemic, in a sustained manner.
- It enables their wellbeing through health insurance, empower them through education and equip them for self-sufficient existence with financial support of Rs. 10 lakh, on reaching 23 years of age.
- Eligibility: All children who have lost –
- Both parents or
- Surviving parent or
- legal guardian/adoptive parents due to COVID 19 pandemic, starting from 11.03.2020 till the end of pandemic, shall be entitled to benefits under this scheme.
- Both parents or
Source : PIB
4. I-STEM
I-STEM project has been accorded extension for five years, until 2026 and enters its second phase with added features.
About:
- The Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM), the national web portal for sharing R&D facilities was formally launched in January 2020 by the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
- I-STEM (www.istem.gov.in) is an initiative of Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India (PSA, GOI) under the aegis of Prime Minister Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) mission.
- The goal of I-STEM is to strengthen the R&D ecosystem of the country by connecting researchers with resources, in part by promoting technologies and scientific equipment development indigenously, and providing necessary supplies and supports to researchers by enabling them an access to existing publicly funded R&D facilities in the country through the I-STEM web portal.
- Under Phase II, the portal will hostindigenous technology products listedthrough a digital catalogue. The portal will also provide a platform for the various City Knowledge and Innovation Clusters.
Source : PIB
5. AGRICULTURE EXPORTS
India has entered the top 10 list of the countries exporting agricultural produce in the year 2019 with a sizable share in the export of rice, cotton, soya beans and meat.
About:
- As per a report by World Trade Organization (WTO) on the trends in world agricultural trade in the past 25 years, India and Mexico with 3.1% and 3.4% share in global Agri exports, respectively, replaced New Zealand (9th) and Malaysia (7th) as the largest exporters across the globe.
- The United States of America (USA), which topped the list in 1995 with 22.2% share of world Agri export, was overtaken by the European Union (EU) in 2019 with 16.1% global Agri share.
- Notably, the top exporting nations of rice in 1995 were Thailand (38%), India (26%), and the US (19%). In 2019, India with a lead of 33% overtook Thailand (20%) to top the list, while Vietnam (12%) overtook the US and climbed to the third spot.
- Further, India is also the third-largest cotton exporter (7.6%), and the fourth-largest importer (10%) in 2019.
- In the largest traded Agri product, soya beans, India (0.1%) has a meagre share, but was ranked ninth in the world.
- In the “meat and edible meat offal” category, India secured 8th rank in the world with a global share of 4%.
- India’s share of foreign value-added content in its Agri exports clocked 3.8% share primarily due to high tariffs on Agri imports to boost the domestic markets and local farmers.
Source : All India Radio
6. ROC PLAYERS
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there are 335 sportspersons from Russia competing with athletes from around the world. Yet, unlike their counterparts, the Russians are not allowed to use their country’s name, flag and anthem, and are competing under the acronym ROC, meaning Russian Olympic Committee.
About:
- This is because Russia, which has historically been among the world’s top sporting nations, has been ‘banned’ from the Tokyo Olympics.
- In December 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned Russia for four years from competing in international events, including the Tokyo Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The ban was enacted after new revelations came up about a doping programme that Russia had been accused of.
- The ban is not outright, and 335 athletes from Russia are still playing at Tokyo, only under the name ROC, meaning Russian Olympic Committee – the team that sends Russian athletes to all Games. In effect, the ‘punishment’ only consists of forcing them to not use Russia’s name, flag or national anthem.
- The ROC players are only those who have been able to prove that they were not part of the doping scam.
Source : Indian Express
7. CASTE CENSUS
The Government of India informed Lok Sabha that it has decided as a matter of policy not to enumerate caste-wise population other than SCs and STs in Census. Subsequently many leaders demanded a caste-based census.
About:
- Every Census in independent India from 1951 to 2011 has published data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but not on other castes. Before that, every Census until 1931 had data on caste.
- However, in 1941, caste-based data was collected but not published.
- In the absence of such a census, there is no proper estimate for the population of OBCs, various groups within the OBCs, and others.
- The Mandal Commission estimated the OBC population at 52%, some other estimates have been based on National Sample Survey data.
- Demand for a caste census usually come from among those belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBC) and other deprived sections, while sections from the upper castes oppose the idea.
Important Info :
Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC)
- The UPA government decided to go for a full-fledged SECC, which was conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development in rural areas and the Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation in urban areas.
- The SECC data excluding caste data was finalised and published by the two ministries in 2016.
- The raw caste data was handed over to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which formed an Expert Group under former NITI Aayog Vice-Chairperson Arvind Pangaria for classification and categorisation of data.
- It is not clear whether it submitted its report; no such report has been made public.
Source : Indian Express
8. CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY (CBDC)
Reserve bank of India is planning to launch Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the near future.
About:
- RBI is currently working towards a phased implementation strategy and examining use cases which could be implemented with little or no disruption. Conducting pilots in wholesale and retail segments may be a possibility in near future.
- High Level Inter-Ministerial Committee constituted by Ministry of Finance in November 2017 to examine the policy and legal framework for regulation of virtual currencies had recommended the introduction of CBDC.
Source : All India Radio
9. PDS 70
Scientists for the first time have spotted a moon-forming region around a planet beyond our solar system - a Jupiter-like world surrounded by a disc of gas and dust massive enough that it could spawn three moons the size of the one orbiting Earth.
About:
- The researchers used the ALMA observatory in Chile's Atacama desert to detect the disc of swirling material accumulating around one of two newborn planets seen orbiting a young star called PDS 70, located 370 light years from Earth.
- A light year is the distance light travels in a year, about 9.5 trillion km.
- More than 4,400 planets have been discovered outside our solar system, called exoplanets. No circumplanetary discs had been found until now because all the known exoplanets resided in “mature” – fully developed – solar systems, except the two infant gas planets orbiting PDS 70.
- The orange-coloured star PDS 70, roughly the same mass as our Sun, is about 5 million years old. The two planets are even younger. Both planets are similar (although larger) to Jupiter, a gas giant. It was around one of the two planets, called PDS 70c, that a moon-forming disc was observed.
Source : The Hindu
10. REC LIMITED
On the 52nd Foundation Day of REC Limited, Union Power Minister released a report on Key Regulatory Parameters of Power Utilities.
About:
- REC Limited, formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited, is a Navratna NBFC under the purview of the Ministry of Power focusing on Power Sector Financing and Development across India.
- Established in 1969, it provides financial assistance to state electricity boards, state governments, central/state power utilities, independent power producers, rural electric cooperatives and private sector utilities.
- Its business activities involve financing projects in the complete power sector value chain; different type of projects includes Generation, Transmission, Distribution Projects, and Renewable Energy projects.
- HQ: Delhi.
Source : PIB