Why in news?

• Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami has appointed Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as the brand ambassador of Uttarakhand ahead of the 2022 Assembly Elections.
• In 2017, Akshay Kumar was appointed as Uttarakhand’s brand ambassador for ‘Swachhata Abhiyan’.
• Akshay Kumar, is a Canadian-Indian actor, a film producer who has acted in more than 100 films.

Why in news?

• Odisha marked the day of Basant Panchami February 5, 2022, with a prayer ceremony to consecrate the logs used in the chariot of the deity Jagannath.
• But this year, most of the Phasi (Anogeissus acuminata) wood came from private land rather than forests, according to the state forest department.

About Phasi (Anogeissus acuminate) Wood

• It is a deciduous tree with a narrow crown and takes 50-60 years to mature.
• Range- India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam.
• Phasi trees are mostly found in the alluvial floodplain of the Mahanadi.
• Habitat – Tropical low land open forest or semi deciduous forests at elevations below 700 m.
• It is found particularly in deep, humus rich, loamy soils along streams or river banks.
• The trees for the chariot have to be pencil straight, six feet in girth and 12-14 feet in height. If the girth is less, they cannot be used.

Why in news?

• Scientists have recorded presence of White-Cheeked Macaque (Macaca leucogenys)from central Arunachal Pradesh in India. The significance of the discovery is that it marks a new addition to mammals of India.
• The species was discovered in 2015 by a group of Chinese scientists from the Modog region in southeastern Tibet and this discovery was considered a significant breakthrough as far as primates are concerned.
• White- Cheeked Macaques are distinct from other macaques found in the region by displaying white cheeks, long and thick hairs on the neck area, and a longer tail.
• White Cheeked Macaque has not been yet included in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 of India.
• Along with White-Cheeked Macaques and Arunachal Macaque the other species of Macaques are Assamese Macaque(Macaca assamensis) and Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) reported from the same landscape.The number of mammals reported from India stands at 434.
• The potential threat to all species of macaques in the landscape are due to hunting by locals for consumption and habitat degradation due to urbanisation and infrastructure development.

Why in news?

• The Women in the Boardroom report was recently released by Deloitte Global.
• This is the seventh edition of the report.
• According to the report, women hold only 17.1% board seats in India. However, this has increased. In 2014, it was 9.4%.
• 2014 has been taken as base year of comparison because in 2013, the Companies Act mandated that every board should have at least one woman member.
• The report said that only 3.6% of the chairpersons are women in the country. The women representation in chair positions has come down in the last four years. Globally, the women representation in boards is 19.7%. This has increased by 2.8% as compared to 2018. Between 2016 and 2018, the increase was 1.9%.
• At this pace, the equality in representation all over the world shall be achieved only by 2045.

Why in news?

• India has agreed to provide a grant to Sri Lanka for implementing a ‘Unitary Digital Identity framework’.
• The Unitary Digital Identity Framework is apparently modelled on the Aadhaar card.
• Sri Lankan government will give priority to the implementation of this Framework as a national level programme.
• Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers approved this proposal made by President Rajapaksa, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with India to obtain the grant and launch this project.
• This project comes amid substantive economic assistance from India, worth USD 1.4 billion to Sri Lanka, since the start of 2022 to help Sri Lanka cope with its dollar crunch, and import food, medicines and fuel due to shortages.

About Unitary Digital Identity Framework

• Under the Unitary Digital Identity Framework, a personal identity verification device will be introduced, based on biometric data, which is a digital tool to represent identities of individuals in cyberspace. Identification of individual identities can be accurately verified in physical and digital environments by combining two devices.
• The initiative will be launched following bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in December 2019.

Why in news?

• The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is to develop five light houses in the state of Odisha.
• The Light Houses are to be built in Public – Private Partnership mode. The identified districts are as follows: Gopalpur lighthouse in Ganjam, Paradip lighthouse in Jagatsinghpur, alse point lighthouse in Kendrapara, Chandrabhaga lighthouse in Puri and Puri lighthouse.
• 71 lighthouses have been identified to increase lighthouse tourism. The plan is to build open air theatre, cafeteria, museum, children’s park, landscaping and eco – friendly cottages in these light houses.
• The Odisha Light house tourism being developed is a part of Marine aids to Navigation 2021. Under the aid, the development was to be brought in the states of Gujarat, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The aid will help develop the lighthouses into tourism destinations. It will preserve the historical and traditional values of the lighthouses.
• The lighthouses are maintained by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and lightships which functions under the Ministry of Shipping.
• Facts-
• The Jeddah port control tower is the tallest lighthouse in the world. It is 133 metres tall.
• The tallest lighthouse in India is located in Jakhau port of Gujarat. It is 45 metres tall.

Why in news?

• Indian documentary Writing with Fire, has been nominated at the 94^thAcademy Awards in ‘Best Documentary Feature Category’.
• The documentary is directed by filmmakers Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh.
• It has been nominated alongside Ascension, Flee, Attica, and Summer of the Soul.
• Writing with Fire is the only Indian title, to be nominated at Oscar awards 2022.

About ‘Writing with Fire’

• ‘Writing with Fire’ is about a rural newspaper run by Dalit women called Khabar Lahariya.
• The newspaper was started by Delhi based NGO Nirantar from Chitrakoot, Bundelkhand region in 2002.
• The documentary shows transition of Khabar Lahariya from print to digital in recent years.
• The film follows Meera and her fellow journalists, when they get acquainted with new technology whilst questioning patriarchy, reporting stories about victims of caste & gender violence and investigating incompetence of the police force.

Why in news?

• Sustainable Access to Markets and Resources for Innovative Delivery of Healthcare (SAMRIDH) initiative was announced by ‘Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of NITI Aayog in association with the S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

About SAMRIDH Initiative

• This new partnership will improve access to quality and affordable healthcare for vulnerable populations across tier-2 and tier-3 cities, as well as rural and tribal regions.
• USAID, IPE Global, and stakeholders from Indian government, private sector and academia developed the innovative SAMRIDH blended finance facility in 2020, for combining philanthropic and public funds with commercial capital, in a bid to create and rapidly scale market-based health solutions.
• This partnership will enhance SAMRIDH’s efforts for reaching vulnerable populations and leveraging expertise of AIM in innovation and entrepreneurship.
• AIM and SAMRIDH will leverage public sector resources and philanthropic capital for offsetting barriers for commercial investments across small and medium health enterprises for investing in and scale healthcare solutions.
• This collaboration will also focus on innovations across healthcare landscape with a common goal to mount an effective response towards ongoing third wave of COVID-19.
• It will also build health system preparedness for future health emergencies and infectious disease outbreaks.

Significance of SAMRIDH initiative

• SAMRIDH initiative will help in strengthening India’s health systems with sustainable business innovations and solutions.
• This collaboration will also share the commitment of Atal Innovation Mission and USAID for leveraging innovative financing solutions in order to unlock greater investment in healthcare services.

Why in news?

• Safer Internet Day is observed every year on the second day of the second week of February with the aim of providing a safer and better internet, where every user gets to use the internet responsibly and without getting their data leaked.
• This year February 8is being celebrated as Safer Internet Day across the world.
• This year marks the 19th edition of Safer Internet Day with actions taking place right across the globe.
• The theme for this year is ‘Together for a better internet’, calling upon all stakeholders to join together to make the internet a safer and better place for all, and especially for children and young people.
• It started as an initiative of the European Union’s (EU’s) Safe Borders project in 2004 and was taken up by the In safe network as one of its earliest actions in 2005, according to its website.
• It is now celebrated in nearly 200 countries across the world. From cyber bullying to social networking to digital identity, each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and current concerns.

Why in news?

• The United Nations designated World Pulses Dayis observed every year on 10 February.
• The day has been established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)of the United Nations to recognize the importance of pulses (dry beans, lentils, dry peas, chickpeas, lupins) as a global food.
• World Pulses Day’s 2022 theme: “Pulses to empower youth in achieving sustainable agrifood systems”.