Why in news?

• Malawi has recorded Africa’s first wild poliovirus (WPV) case in five years.

About Polio:

• Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age.
• It may affect the spinal cord causing muscle weakness and paralysis.
• Transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a contaminated water or food).
• Wild poliovirus (WPV) is the most commonly known form of the poliovirus.
• There are 3 strains of WPV- type 1, type 2 and type 3.
  • > type 2 was eradicated in 1999
  • > no case of type 3 has been found since 2012.
  • > As at 2020, type 1 affects two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Why in news?

• Ministry of Education has approved the continuation of the RUSA scheme till March 31, 2026.

 About Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)

• It is a centrally sponsored scheme, launched in 2013.
• Seeks to provide strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions.
• Under the new phase, RUSA aims to reach out to unnerved, underserved areas; remote and rural areas; LWE (left-wing extremism) areas; aspirational districts, tier-2 cities, etc.
• New Phase is designed to implement some of the recommendations of National Education Policy 2020.
• It will support state governments for gender inclusion, equity initiatives, ICT, enhancing employability through vocationalisation and skill upgradation.
• Grants will be provided to strengthen both accredited and non-accredited universities and colleges for undertaking various activities including teaching-learning in Indian languages.

Why in news?

• With the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) entering the seventh year of implementation in the upcoming Kharif season, the government has announced a new doorstep crop insurance distribution policy known as ‘Meri Policy Mere Hath’.
• The ‘Meri Policy Mere Hath’ door-step campaign has been launched to ensure that all farmers are well informed about their land records, policies, and the PMFBY’s claim and grievance redressal process.
• In the upcoming Kharif season which will be beginning in June, the doorstep campaign will be launched in all implementing states.

 About Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

• In the 2016, PMFBY was launched with the aim of providing financial assistance to all the farmers who have suffered crop damage or loss from natural disasters.

 About Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY):

• In the 2016, PMFBY was launched with the aim of providing financial assistance to all the farmers who have suffered crop damage or loss from natural disasters.
• It provides a comprehensive insurance cover against failure of the crop thus helping in stabilising the income of the farmers.
• Scope: All food & oilseed crops and annual commercial/horticultural crops for which past yield data is available.
• Premium: The prescribed premium is 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 5% for all rabi crops.
• In the case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium is5%.
• Premium cost over and above the farmer share was equally subsidized by States and GoI.
• However, GoI shared 90% of the premium subsidy for North Eastern States to promote the uptake in the region.
• The scheme was compulsory for loanee farmers availing Crop Loan/Kisan Credit Card (KCC) account for notified crops and voluntary for others.
• In order to ensure more efficient and effective implementation of the scheme, the central government had revamped PMFBY in the 2020 Kharif season.
• This overhauled PMFBY is often called PMFBY 2.0, it has the following features:
• Completely Voluntary: Enrolment 100% voluntary for all farmers from 2020 Kharif.
• Limit to Central Subsidy: The Cabinet has decided to cap the Centre’s premium subsidy under the scheme for premium rates up to 30% for unirrigated areas/crops and 25% for irrigated areas/crops.
• More Flexibility to States: The government has given the flexibility to states/UTs to implement PMFBY and given them the option to select any number of additional risk covers/features.
• Investing in ICE Activities: Insurance companies have to now spend 0.5% of the total premium collected on information, education and communication (IEC) activities.

Why in news?

• A team of researchers recently discovered a new species of bent-toed gecko or lizard, from Umroi Military station in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya.
• The new species of Gecko or lizard belongs to the family of Cyrtodactylus exercitus (‘exercitus’ means army, in Latin).
• It has been named to honour the valour of Indian Army for their services to India.
• These new species was discovered as part of efforts of research team, to uncover herpetofaunal diversity of North East India.
• Bent-toe geckos are scientifically known as Cyrtodactylus. It is a diverse genus of Asian geckos. This genus has about 300 described species as of 2020. Thus, it is the largest of all gecko genera.
• Genus Cyrtodactylus
• The genus Cyrtodactylus is represented by about 320 species across the world. It is the third most speciose vertebrate genus worldwide. Members of the genus range from South Asia to Melanesia. There is high diversity of the species in south Asia. North East India has now become home to 16 species of bent-toed gecko.

Why in news?

• World Pangolin Day is celebrated on the “Third Saturday of February” every year.
• In 2022, the annual World Pangolin Day is being celebrated on 19 February 2022.It marks the 11th edition of the event.
• The day aims to raise awareness about these unique mammals and speed up conservation efforts. Pangolin numbers are rapidly declining in Asia and Africa.

About Pangolins

• Pangolins are the only mammal to be covered in scales.
• They are the most smuggled mammal in the world because people want their meat and scales.

Pangolins in India

• Out of the eight species of pangolin, the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and the Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) are found in India.
• Indian Pangolin is a large anteater covered by 11-13 rows of scales on the back. A terminal scale is also present on the lower side of the tail of the Indian Pangolin, which is absent in the Chinese Pangolin.
• Habitat
• Indian Pangolin is widely distributed in India, except the arid region, high Himalayas and the North-East. The species is also found in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
• Chinese Pangolin is found in the Himalayan foothills in Eastern Nepal, Bhutan, Northern India, North-East Bangladesh and through Southern China.
• Threats to Pangolins in India: Hunting and poaching for local consumptive use (e.g. as a protein source and traditional medicine) and international trade for its meat and scales in East and South East Asian countries, particularly China and Vietnam.
• IUCN Red List
• Indian Pangolin: Endangered
• Chinese Pangolin: Critically Endangered
• Both these species are listed under Schedule I, Part I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Why in news?

• World Day of Social Justice is celebrated annually all over the world on 20 February.
• The International Labour Organization unanimously adopted the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization on 10 June 2008.
• Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations.
• World Day of Social Justice 2022 Theme: Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment.

Why in news?

• The International Mother Language Day (IMLD)is observed annually on the 21st of February. The day aims to raise awareness regarding linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism.
• The 2022 theme is “Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities”. 
• The UN mentioned in its statement that this year’s theme raises the potential role of technology to advance multilingual education and support the development of quality teaching and learning for all.
• International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)in November 1999. The UN General Assembly welcomed the proclamation of the day in its resolution of 2002.

Why in news?

• Recently, Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar announced that, February 15 would now be commemorated as “ShahidDiwas”.
• February 15 would be commemorated as ShahidDiwas, in the honour of 34 freedom fighters who were killed by police 90 years ago, in Tarapur town in Munger district of Bihar.
• These freedom fighters had never got their due, even though this was the biggest massacre carried out by the British police after JallianwalaBagh in 1919 in Amritsar.

About Tarapur Massacre

• This incident took place on February 15, 1932, when a group of young freedom fighters had planned to hoist “Indian national flag” at Thana Bhavan in Tarapur.
• Police were not aware of their plan but several officers were present at the spot. During this, police carried out a brutal lathi charge on them. Despite the lathi charge, one of the freedom fighters (Gopal Singh) succeeded in raising the flag at Thana Bhavan.
• A strong crowd of 4,000 pelted the police with stones, in which an officer of civil administration was injured. In response, police opened indiscriminate fire on the crowd. Around 75 rounds were fired, after which 34 bodies were found at the spot.

Why in news?

• English club, Chelsea has defeated Brazilian club Palmeiras, 2-1, to win the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup final. Chelsea has won the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time.
• The decisive goal was scored by Kai Havertz with 3 minutes of extra time to go. Kai Havertz’ nerveless 117th-minute penalty settled a gruelling Club World Cup final.
• The final was held at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

Why in news?

• JP Morgan has become the world’s first bank to set up shop in the metaverse. The largest bank in the US has opened a lounge in the blockchain-based world
• Users can create their virtual avatars, build virtual spaces and roam in the lounge christened ‘Onyx Lounge’ after its suit of Ethereum-based services. The lounge also features a digital image of the bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon.

About Metaverse

• Metaverse is a virtual universe where users can do multiple activities like socialising, shopping or even attending events through their avatar.
• Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are becoming more pocket-friendly, and both technologies have together contributed to a significantly enhanced user experience.