Why in news?

• Central government has for the first time Issued an order exempting certain types of genome edited crops from the stringent regulations applic able on genetically modified or GM crops thus giving a big boost to their further research and development.
• Gene editing is a way of making specific changes to the DNA of a cell or organism while GMOs, are the result of tweaking the DNA of a living organism.
• In the recent past, many countries have either developed or approved for commercial cultivation of vegetables, fruits, oilseeds and cereals developed through genome editing such as Gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA tomato, high oleic canola and soybean, non-browning mushroom
• It allows SDN1 and SDN2 genome-edited products to be exempted from being treated as transgenic products (GMOs) and taking them out of the purview of Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee or GEAC.
• SDN1 and SDN2 involve “knocking off” or “overexpressing” certain traits in a genome without any Insertion of gene material from outside.
• SDN stands for Site-directed Nuclease and refers to the practice of cleaving DNA strands to effect the subsequent genome editing.
• SDN3 genome-edited products will be treated as genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
• SDN3 involves insertion of foreign genes.

Why in news?

• RAMP is a World Bank assisted Central Sector Scheme, supporting various COVID Resilience and Recovery Interventions of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
• It is a new scheme that would commence in financial year 2022-23 for 5-year period.
• It aims at improving access to market and credit, strengthening institutions and governance at the Centre and State, improving Centre-State linkages and partnerships, addressing issues of delayed payments and greening of MSMEs.
• Monitoring and policy overview of RAMP would be done by an apex National MSME Council, headed by Minister for MSME, including representation from various Ministries and supported by a secretariat.

Significance of RAMP scheme

• Complement Atmanirbhar Bharat mission by fostering innovation and enhancement in industry standards, promoting domestic manufacturing etc.
• Act as Policy Provider to enable delivery of more effective and cost-efficient MSME interventions to improve competitiveness and business sustainability.
• Provide necessary technological inputs to MSMEs to make them competitive and self-reliant.
• Scale up implementation capacity and MSME coverage in states as well.
• Act as job-enabler, market promoter, finance facilitator, and will support vulnerable sections and greening initiatives.

Objective of the scheme is to

• Strengthen institutions and governance of MSME programme
• To support to market access, firm capabilities and access to finance.

Why in news?

• A financial assistance of over Rs 100 crore has been disbursed under the Mukhya Mantri Swabhilambhan Yojana to youth in the state for setting up self-employment ventures..
• He said that the scheme had helped in creating self-employment avenues for the youth. He called upon women to come forward to take the benefits of the yojana as the subsidy amount given to them compared to men was higher.
• CM Thakur gave away prizes to development blocks of Kangra district under the Maharishi Valmiki Swachhata Puraskar Yojana and the Balika Gaurav Puraskar Yojana.

Why in news?

• The three-day state-level Spring Festival, locally known as Pipal Jatra, will be held with fervour from April 28 in Dhalpur. It is held from April 28 to 30 each year, but only religious ceremonies were held in a curtailed manner in the past two years.
• Besides the local Gouhri Devta, chief deity Lord Raghunath will also participate in the festivities.

About kullu

• Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
• It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about 10 kilometres north of the airport at Bhuntar.
• Kullu was ruled by Koli rulers of Badani dynasty.

Why in news?

• On 30^thMarch Rajasthan Foundation Day or Rajasthan Diwas is observed to commemorate the state’s formation. On 30^th March 1949, Rajasthan was formed after the merging of Rajputana into the Indian Union.

Overview

• The 73^rdfoundation day of Rajasthan is being celebrated on Rajasthan Day 2022.
• Rajasthan is largest state by area in India and it is located in the country’s northwest part.
• 4 percent of the country’s geographical area is covered by Rajasthan.
• This state is home to a huge cultural diversity.
• Rajasthan is India’s seventh-largest state by population.
• Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert is a prominent part of Rajasthan.
• The state has three national tiger reserves which are Ranthambore National Park (Sawai Madhopur), Sariska Tiger Reserve (Alwar), and Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve (Kota).
• Five Indian states border Rajasthan. They are Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Punjab to the north, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, and Gujarat to the southwest. The state also shares a border with Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh provinces.

Why in news?

• Bhim Bahadur Gurung (B.B. Gurung), Former and 3rd Chief Minister(CM) of Sikkim has passed away at his residence in Lumsui in Gangtok, Sikkim. He was born on 11th October 1929 at Chakung (present-day West Sikkim), Sikkim.

About B.B. Gurung

• B. Gurung served as a teacher and a staff reporter in a Calcutta(Kolkata)-based newspaper the Amrita Bazar Patrika and he also edited the first news-based Nepali Journal of Sikkim, called Kanchenjunga.
• He started his political career with Sikkim Rajya Congress Party in 1947 and was later appointed as the General Secretary in 1958.
• In 1967, he was elected as Executive Councillor of the Sikkim Rashtriya Congress Party and remained in the party until 1971.
• He was elected to the Vidhan Sabha and served as the speaker of the First Sikkim Legislative Assembly from 1977 to 1979.
• He served as the 3rd CM of Sikkim from 11 May to 24 May 1984, the shortest term in the history of Sikkim.
• Between 2014 and 2015 he served as the political advisor to the CM of Sikkim.

Why in news?

• India is set to put in motion construction of 10 ‘fleet mode’ nuclear reactors over the next three years. The First Pour of Concrete (FPC) for a 700 MegaWatts (MW) Kaiga Atomic Power Plant, Karnataka units 5 & 6 are scheduled by 2023.
• The centre had approved the construction of 10 indigenously developed Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MegaWatts (MW) each in June 2017 with a total cost of Rs 1.05 Lakh crore.
• Also by 2024, The FPC for Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Praiyonjan units 3 & 4 and the Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Projects units 1 to 4 were planned to begin construction.
• And the FPC for the Chutka Madhya Pradesh Atomic Power Project units 1 & 2 are expected by 2025.
• The FPC signals the beginning of construction of nuclear power reactors from the pre-project stage which includes excavation activities at the project site.
• The Kamataka’s Kaiga Atomic Power Plant units 5 & 6 and Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Praiyonjan units 3 & 4 were agreed to be built under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Model.
• Currently, India operates 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6780 MegaWatt (MW), among which one 700 MW reactor at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in Gujarat was connected to the grid in January 2021.

About Indian Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactor – 700:

• Indian Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactor is designed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
• lt is a Generation III reactor developed from the earlier CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium-Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactor) based 220 MW and 540 MW designs.
• The Indian Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactor has been upgraded to generate electricity capacity of 700 MW.
• India’s first pair of PHWRs of 220 MW each were set up at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan in the 1960s with Canadian support (Canada Deuterium Uranium-Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactor).
• Fuel – Natural Uranium
• Moderator – Heavy Water

Why in news?

• It has recently been awarded to INS Valsura.
• It is bestowed upon a military unit in recognition of exceptional service rendered to the Nation, both in peace and in war.
• The Indian Navy was the first Indian Armed Force, to be awarded the President Colour by Dr Rajendra Prasad on 27 May 1951.

Why in news?

• Recently, Kozhikode was proposed by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) to be branded as a UNESCO’s City of Literature, which is part of a wider UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
• UCCN was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
• It covers seven creative fields: Crafts & Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music, and Media Arts.
• 6 Indian cities are included on the list- Hyderabad (gastronomy), Mumbai (film), Varanasi (music), Chennai (music), Jaipur (crafts and folk art) and the latest addition, Srinagar (crafts and folk art).

Why in news?

• 2022 arribada (mass-nesting phenomenon) is the most delayed mass nesting recorded in Gahirmatha.
• Gahirmatha (Odisha) is the world’s largest rookery of olive ridley’s followed by Rushikulya.
• Olive Ridley turtles di g holes on the beach at night time creating a cavity. They lay 40-50 eggs in each hole and cover it again with sand. Before sunrise, the turtles return to the sea, leaving behind the eggs, which hatch after 40-60 days.

About Olive Ridley

• It gets its name from the olive green color of its heart-shaped shell.
• Found primarily in the warm tropical regions of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans.
• Threats: Accidental killing through entanglement in trawl nets; extensively poached for their meat, shell and leather; warmer sea surface temperatures etc.
• IUCN Status: Vulnerable.
• Protection: Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, CITES Appendix I.
• Government Initiatives
• Operation Save Kurma by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
• Odisha government has made it mandatory for trawls to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs).
• Operation Oliva exercise to ensure the safe mid-sea sojourn of breeding Olive Ridley sea.