Why in news?

• Recently, President inaugurated the three-year long celebrations of the 150^th Birth anniversary of Siddhanta Prabhupada.

About Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupad

• He was the founder of Gaudiya Math and Mission in Puri.
• Gaudiya Math is a monastic organisation to spread Gaudiya Vaishnavism, the philosophy of the medieval Vaishnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
• Chaitanya was a 15th Century Bhakti Saint who promoted worship of Lord Krishna as the Supreme Soul.
• Ideals propounded: Determination, Devotion to a life free of material attachment and Service to Humanity.

Why in news?

• Northern States Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh celebrate their Foundation Day on February 20, since 1987.
• Arunachal Pradesh is the extreme eastern part of the country, which is also known as the ‘land of the rising sun’.
• The state at the edge of the Himalayas is proud to be called the land of dawn and lit mountains. Arunachal Pradesh became the 24th state of India.
• Mizoram was declared as a separate UT in 1972 under the Northeast Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971.
• It became the 23rd state of India after the 53rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution, 1986. Mizoram, as well as the state of Arunachal Pradesh, came into existence on 20 February 1987.

Why in news?

• Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Kolkata awarded Most Dependable Public Sector Company in India award 2022′ to Coal India Limited (CIL), an organization under Ministry of Coal in Energy Meet & Excellence Awards 2022 ceremony.

 About Coal India Limited (CIL):

• CIL is a state owned enterprise and a Maharatna company that has expanded their operations and emerged as a global giant.
• CIL has 7 producing subsidiaries namely Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL)and Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCI) and One mine planning and consultancy company that is Central Mine Planning & Design Institute(CMPDI).
• CIL also has a foreign subsidiary Coal India Africana Limitada (CIAL) in Mozambique.
• CIL has incorporated two new subsidiaries i.e. CIL NaviKamiya Urja Limited and CIL Solar PV Limited.

Why in news?

• The Government of India (GoI), and the World Bank signed loan agreements of USD 115 million to implement the “Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development” (REWARD) Project in the states of Karnataka and Odisha with the support of the respective governments.
• REWARD is a $115 million project signed by Central government, Karnataka, Odisha, and World Bank.
• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), lending arm of World Bank Group financing will support the $115 million loan has a maturity of 15 years, including a grace period of 4.5 years.
• Karnataka with $60 million ,
• Odisha with $49 million , and
• The remaining $6 million will be for the central government’s Department of Land Resources.
• It will help in the adoption of improved watershed management practices that further help increase farmers’ resilience to climate change, promote higher productivity and better incomes.
• Watershed management refers to implementing land use practices and water management practices to protect and improve the quality of the water and other natural resources within a watershed.
• REWARD Project:
• This project is an initiative of the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and World Bank. It is proposed as a 6 years project, from 2021 to 2026 and one of the largest watershed management programs in the world.

Why in news?

• Under “Operation Nanhe Farishte”, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) have rescued more than 1,000 kids from Railway stations across India, in the month of January, 2022.
• The RPF is entrusted with providing safety to passengers. It saved 1,045 children who were found alone or were abandoned at the railway stations.
• Out of all, 701 were boys and 344 were girls.
• According to the RPF, many children are kidnapped from railway stations every year. They are later exploited and trafficked.

Why in news?

• Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti is observed annually on February 19. This year, the 392nd birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the great Maratha warrior, was celebrated on February 19, 2022.

 About Chhatrapati Shivaji

• Shivaji Maharaj was born on February 19, 1630, in Shivneri Fort, near the city of Junnar, present-day Pune district. Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti was first celebrated by Mahatma Jyotirao Phule in 1870. 
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was the first Chhatrapati and founder of the Maratha Empire. He had re-established Hindavi Swarajya, self-rule of the Hindu people.
• He is considered as the greatest Maratha ruler who carved an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur, which became the start of the Maratha Empire.
• He seized the Torna fort at the young age of 16 years and by 17 years, he had seized the Raigad and Kondana forts. He is popularly known as Shivaji Bhosale and was a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan.
• His efforts and contributions in reviving the Maratha empire amid the Mughal rule in India, including his fued with Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, are well documented in India.

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.