Why in news?

• A datacentre is a physical facility that organisations use to store their critical applications and data, process data and disseminate them to users.
• The temperatures recorded In the hot aisles of a datacentre hover between 80 and 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
• As a solution to the large carbon footprint of data centres, excess heat generated by data centres can be captured and dean heat from the server cooing process can be transferred to the district heating system.
• It helps to combat climate change.
• For this Microsoft has partnered to begin the first project in Finland.

Why in news?

• Parliamentary standing committee has asked the Food Ministry to study scope of extending PMGKAY scheme.

About PMGKAY

• Launched to supply free food grains to migrants and poor who faced hardship on account of economic disruption caused by COVID-19.
• Under PMGKAY, 5 kg free wheat/rice per month is provided to 80 crore beneficiaries registered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
• Its nodal ministry is Ministry of Finance.
• Though initially announced only for a period of three months, later it was extended under different phases.

Why in news?

• French President suggested Finlandization can be a way to ease tensions over Ukraine.
• It refers to the policy of strict neutrality between Moscow and the West that Finland followed during decades of Cold War.
• Principle of neutrality was rooted in Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance that Finland signed with USSR in 1948.
• 1948 treaty formed the basis of Helsinki-Moscow relations until 1992, when Finland signed a new agreement with post-Soviet Russia.

Why in news?

• On World Water Day, Union minister for Jai Shakti launched a ‘Sujalam 2.0’ grey water recycling project.
• A staggering 31,000 million tonne of grey water a day is discharged by rural India alone, which is enough to tide over drought if evenly stored across the country.

About World Water Day:

• Held on 22nd March every year since 1993, it focuses on the importance of freshwater.
• 2022 theme is “Groundwater, making the invisible visible”.
• Grey water is defined as the wastewater that includes water from baths, showers, hand basins, washing machines, dishwashers and kitchen sinks, but excludes streams from toilets.
• More than 70 percent of freshwater across rural households in India gets converted to greywater.

Significance of grey water recycling:

• Can prevent potential harm to the environment.
• Can reduce the demand for freshwater.
• Reliable water resource as unlike rainwater harvesting, grey water is not dependent on unpredictable and variable rainfall.
• High nitrogen and phosphorus content when used in irrigation can make a good nutrient or fertiliser source.

Why in news?

• In a significant achievement, MMR of India has declined by 10 points- from 113 in 2016-18 to 103 in 2017-19- as per Special Bulletin on MMR released by Registrar General of India.
• MMR is defined as number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same time period. Maternal mortality is a measure of reproductive health of women in an area.

Key findings:

• With this steady decline, India is on verge of achieving National Health Policy (NHP) target of 100/lakh live births by 2020 and certainly on track to achieve the SDG target of 70/ lakh live births by 2030.
• Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Jharkhand have already achieved the SDG target, with the number of deaths as low as 30 in some states.
• However, rise in MMR in West Bengal, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh have emerged as a cause of concern.

Major causes for maternal mortality are

• Early pregnancy (15 -19 years of age), severe bleeding, infections, high blood pressure during pregnancy, anaemia, complications from delivery, unsafe abortions, and lack of necessary medical care.

Steps taken:

• Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY).
• Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK).
• Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA).
• ‘LaQshya – Labor room Quality improvement Initiative’.

Why in news?

• For the first time, DAC has cleared the procurement of 14 items worth Rs 380 crore from Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) start-ups and MSMEs. These items will be procured by Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.
• The iDEX was launched in 2018 with the objective of incorporating cutting-edge and disruptive technologies in the Armed Forces in a quick time-frame by emphasizing on the startup ecosystem and ensuring self-reliance and indigenization.
• iDEX is funded and managed by a “Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) formed as a “not for profit” company as per Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013 for this purpose.
• To boost ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat; these proposals have been approved under ‘Buy (Indian IDDM- (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured))’ category part of the initial Defence Procurement Procedure-2016. The procedure was further updated in 2020.

About DAC

• It is the highest decision-making body in the Defence Ministry for deciding on new policies and capital acquisitions for the three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) and the Indian Coast Guard.
• Minister of Defence is the Chairman of the Council.

 Other Government initiatives for Arm procurement

• Indigenisation portal- SRIJAN to provide development support to MSMEs/Startups/Industry.
• Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
• Defence Investor Cell: To provide information including addressing queries related to investment opportunities, procedures and regulatory requirements.

Why in news?

• Every year, the Nation was observed on March 23^rd as Martyrs Day (Shaheed Diwas or Sarvodaya Day).
• The day was observed to pay tribute to the death anniversary of the freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru, who laid their lives for the freedom of India.
• Also, 30 January is observed as Martyr’s Day or Shaheed Diwas in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi.

History of the day

• On March 23, three heroes of our nation were hanged to death, namely Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar by the British.
• They sacrificed their lives for the welfare of our nation. These heroes fought for the welfare of people and sacrificed their lives for the same cause.
• For many young Indians, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev have become a source of inspiration. Even during British rule, their sacrifice urged many people to come forth and fight for their freedom. Therefore, in order to homage to the three of these revolutionaries, India has commemorated March 23 as Shaheed Diwas.
• They were hanged to death for assassinating John Saunders, a British police officer in 1928.
• They had mistook him for British police superintendent James Scott. It was Scott who had ordered lathi-charge, which eventually led to the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.

Why in news?

• The 3rd edition of the joint training exercise named EX-DUSTLIK between the Indian army and Uzbekistan army begins at Yangiarik, Uzbekistan from 22 to 31 March 2022. The last edition of DUSTLIK was conducted in Ranikhet (Uttarakhand) in March 2021.
• The Indian contingent will be represented by the Grenadiers Regiment and will join the Uzbekistan Army contingent represented by troops of the North-Western Military District.

About the Exercise:

• The joint exercise would focus on Counter-Terrorism operations in semi-urban terrain under a United Nations Mandate.
• The training schedule will focus primarily on sharing of tactical level drills and learning of best practices from each other.
• The exercise aims at enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability between two armies.

Why in news?

• World Tuberculosis Day is observed every year on 24 March to create awareness among the public about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease.
• The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.
• The theme of World TB Day 2022 – ‘Invest to End TB. Save Lives.’–conveys the urgent need to invest resources to ramp up the fight against TB and achieve the commitments to end TB made by global leaders.

About Tuberculosis

• Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects your lungs.
• The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes.
• Tuberculosis can also affect other parts of your body, including your kidneys, spine or brain.
• When TB occurs outside your lungs, signs and symptoms vary according to the organs involved. For example, tuberculosis of the spine can cause back pain, and tuberculosis in kidneys might cause blood in the

Why in news?

• Nagaland has created history by becoming the first State Assembly in the country to implement the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) programme to become completely paperless.
• The Nagaland Assembly Secretariat has attached a tablet or e-book on each table in the 60 members’ assembly amid the ongoing Budget session.

About the NeVA:

• NeVA is a work-flow system deployed on NIC Cloud, MeghRaj which helps the Chair of the House to conduct the proceedings of the House smoothly and to conduct Legislative Business of the House in a Paperless manner.
• NeVA is a device neutral and member-centric application created to equip them to handle diverse House Business smartly by putting entire information regarding member contact details, rules of procedure, list of business, notices, bulletins, bills, starred/unstarred questions and answers, papers laid, committee reports etc. in their handheld devices/ tablets and equip all Legislatures / Departments to handle it efficiently.