Why in news?

• Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday virtually launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 that aims to protect children and pregnant women from life-threatening diseases.
• The government is implementing the largest inoculation drive globally where annually over 3 crore pregnant women and 6 crore children are covered through the Universal Immunisation Programme.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 will have three rounds and will be conducted in 416 districts (including 75 districts identified for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav) across 33 States/UTs in the country.
• In the first round (Feb-April 2022), 11 states will conduct IMI 4.0. These are Assam, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura and Chhattisgarh.
• The others (22 states) will conduct the rounds from April to May 2022. These states/UTs include Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Puducherry, Delhi, Punjab, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana, Jharkhand, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, A & N Islands.
• The minister said the mission will ensure that the routine immunization services will reach the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children and pregnant women of the country.
• With the aim to increase the full immunisation coverage, Mission Indradhanush was launched in December 2014 to cover the partially and unvaccinated pregnant women and children in pockets of low immunization coverage, high-risk and hard-to-reach areas and protect them from vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Total of 12 vaccine-preventable diseases are covered against which free immunization is provided:
• Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Measles, Rubella, severe form of Childhood Tuberculosis, Hepatitis, Meningitis, Pneumonia caused by Hemophilus Influenza type B, Rotavirus diarrhea, Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Japanese Encephalitis.

Why in news?

• Recently, the Union Finance Minister in the Union Budget for 2022-23 announced National Ropeways Development Programme – “Parvatmala” to improve connectivity in hilly areas.

About the scheme

• The scheme will be taken up on PPP (Public Private Partnership)mode, which will be a preferred ecologically sustainable alternative in place of conventional roads in difficult hilly areas.
• The idea is to improve connectivity and convenience for commuters, besides promoting tourism.
• This may also cover congested urban areas, where conventional mass transit systems are not feasible.
• The scheme is being presently started in regions like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Jammu & Kashmir and the other North Eastern states.
• The Finance Minister announced that contracts for 8 ropeway projects for a length of 60 km would be awarded in 2022-23.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH)will have responsibility for development of ropeway and alternative mobility solutions technology, as well as construction, research, and policy in this area.
• In February 2021, the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961was amended, which enabled the MORTH to also look after the development of Ropeways and Alternate Mobility Solutions.
• The move will give a boost to the sector by setting up a regulatory regime.
• The MORTH has so far been responsible for development of Highways and regulating the road transport sector across the country.

Why in news?

• The Nation is remembering Revolutionary Sachindra Nath Sanyal on his 80th death anniversary today.
• He was the founder of the Hindustan Republican Association also known as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. It was created to carry out armed resistance against the British Empire in India.
• Sachindra Nath Sanyal was a mentor for revolutionaries like Chandrasekhar Azad and  Bhagat Singh. He along with Rashbehari Bose attacked Viceroy Hardinge and injured him while he was entering new capital of Delhi.
• Sanyal was closely involved in the plans for the Ghadar Conspiracy. He was sentenced to life for his involvement in the conspiracy and was imprisoned at Cellular Jail.
• He was also jailed by the British for his involvement in Kakori Conspiracy.
• Sachindra Nath Sanyal passed away in Gorakhpur Jail on 7th February 1942.

Why in news?

• According to NASA, the International Space Station will continue its operation until 2031 and then crash into an uninhabited area in the Pacific Ocean ‘South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA)’ known as Point Nemo.
• It will be replaced with three free-flying space stations to continue the work after ISS’s retirement.
• NASA also selected Houston-based Axiom Space to provide the ISS’s first commercial module.

About International Space Station

• In Low Earth Orbit, it is a space station or a habitable artificial satellite (approximately 250 miles above Earth).
• Former US President Ronald Reagan advocated in 1984 the construction of a permanently inhabited spacecraft in cooperation with a few other countries.
• The first piece of the ISS was launched into space on a Russian rocket in 1998.
• NASA and its international partners finished the space station in 2011.
• The International Space Station is one of the most ambitious international collaborations inhuman history.
• Countries involved: The ISS program is a collaboration of five space agencies: NASA (the United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada).
• Intergovernmental treaties and agreements govern the ownership and use of the space station.
• The station is divided into two sections: the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital Segment (USOS), both of which are shared by many nations.

Why in news?

• The India Press Freedom Report 2021was recently released by the Rights and Risks Analysis Group.
• According to the report, 13 media houses and newspapers were targeted in the country, 108 journalists were attacked, and 6 journalists were killed.
• 24 journalists were attacked physically, obstructed, threatened, and harassed for doing their work. All these attacks were made by public officials. This includes police attacks as well. 17 of these attacks were police attacks. 44 FIRs were registered against journalists in 2021. Of this 21 were registered under Section 153 of IPC.
• The highest number of journalists or media organisations targeted was in J&K (25), followed by Uttar Pradesh (23), Madhya Pradesh (16), Tripura (15), Delhi (8), Bihar (6), Assam (5), Haryana and Maharashtra (4 each), Goa and Manipur (3 each), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal (2 each), and Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala (1 each).

Why in news?

• Senegal has defeated Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations championship winning the continental championship for the first time on penalty kicks at Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
• Sadio Mane scored the winning spot-kick as Senegal claimed a first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title with a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over seven-time winners Egypt.
• The final had ended 0-0 after extra time.

Why in news?

• Indian Railway Protection Force has launched a nationwide operation to curb human trafficking.
• As part of “Operation AAHT”, special teams will be deployed on all long-distance trains/routes with a focus on rescuing victims, particularly women and children, from the clutches of traffickers.
• The Railways, which operate about 21,000 trains across the country daily, is the most reliable mode of transportation for the traffickers who often moved their victims on long-distance trains.
• The RPF that rescued more than 2,000 women and children between 2017-21 from the clutches of traffickers intensified the crackdown on human trafficking with the increasing number of cases. The National Crime Records Bureau registers about 2,200 cases of Human Trafficking cases on an average each year.

Why in news?

• Scientist and launch vehicle specialist, Dr S Unnikrishnan Nair took charge as the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
• Nair, who started his career in VSSC Trivandrum in 1985, has made significant contributions in launch vehicle mechanisms, acoustic protection systems and payload fairing areas during his tenure.

About Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

• Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) is the lead Centre of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under the Department of Space (DOS), Government of India.
• VSSC pioneers in rocket research and launch vehicle projects of ISRO.
• The Centre also pursues research and development activities in associated areas like propellants, solid propulsion technology, aerodynamics, aero structural and aero thermal fields, avionics, polymers and composites, guidance, control & simulation, computer and information, mechanical engineering, aerospace mechanisms, vehicle integration and testing, space ordnance, chemicals and materials.
• It was set up in 1962 and is located in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Why In News

• The National Skiing Championship has begun in Auli (Uttrakhand).
• A team of athletes from 16 states have reached Auli for the winter games. These include boys and girls of sub-junior, junior and senior categories.

About Anchal Thakur

• Aanchal Thakur is an Indian female alpine skier.
• She represented India at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics that took place in Innsbruck.
• In the 2012 Youth Winter Olympics she took part in the Alpine skiing – Girl’s Slalom and Girl’s Giant Slalom events.
• She also won bronze medal by winning bronze at FIS Alpine Ski Competition held in Montenegro.

Why in news?

• The age-old festival is celebrated by Hindus, mainly Nag followers, who believe that on this day of Gouri tritiya, Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati got married and the latter insisted on a throne made of snow as her wedding gift.
• Thus, snow during the festival is considered a good omen.
• The festival is celebrated with religious fervor across the Chenab Valley in Jammu and Kashmir.
• During the three-day long festival, married women go in the neighbourhood to offer ‘Thel‘ (respect) to one and all irrespective of religion, creed and caste, age and gender and get in return their blessing — ‘Suhagan Bho’ (wish your husband a long life).