Why in news?

• As per Ministry of Civil Aviation, of the 94 RCS-Udan routes that have completed 3-year tenure, only 22 routes are in operation.
• The Ministry has cited several challenges to the scheme. These include-
• Difficult airline business which has low yield and high operating costs, lack of slots at congested airports like Delhi and Mumbai, non-availability of smaller planes and maintenance issues which require procurement of spare parts from abroad.
• There also have been delays in completing airport development work due to lack of funds and non-availability of land.

About Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (Udan) scheme

• UDAN scheme, also known as regional connectivity scheme (RCS) was launched in 2016.
• The aim of the scheme was to take flying to the masses and improve air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
• Under the scheme, airlines have to cap fares at ₹2,500 per seat per hour of flight for 50% of the seats in a plane for which they receive a viability gap funding (subsidy) from the government along with some other benefits.

Why in news?

• NASA’s asteroid monitoring system has been upgraded so that it can scan the entire night sky once every 24 hours for potentially hazardous space rocks.

About ATLAS

• ATLAS is a state-of-the-art asteroid detection system.
• It is operated by University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy (IfA) for Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) of NASA.
• ATLAS has expanded its reach to southern hemisphere by including two additional observatories in Chile and South Africa. It now comprises of four telescopes.
• It has two existing northern-hemisphere telescopes on Haleakala and Maunaloa in Hawai‘i.
• ATLAS is now capable of searching entire dark sky every 24 hours. Thus, it has become an important asset for NASA’s continuous effort for finding, tracking and monitoring near earth objects (NEOs).

Why in news?

• A team of researchers recently discovered a new gecko species in the Western Ghats of Kerala. The species has been named as Hemidactylus easai.
• The species was named after the former director of the Kerala Forest and Research Institute P S Easa.
• The species was found in the drier regions of the forest. It measured 105 mm from snout to vent. The species was light brown in colour and was found near human habitation.

About Geckos

• Geckos are lizards and are found everywhere in the world except Antarctica. They are mainly found in warm climates of the world.
• There are more than 180 species of geckos in the world. India has 48.
• Of these 48, 30 are in Kerala.
• Geckos are not a threat to human habitation.
• They play a major role in controlling the insect population.
• Gecko is an Indonesian word. It is imitative of the sound made by the species.
• They are unique for their vocalisation. They use chirping and clicking sounds for their social interactions. They make hissing sounds when threatened or alarmed.

Why in news?

• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Hyderabad)has launched the beta version of ‘Swarajability’, a job portal powered by artificial intelligence that helps people with disabilities acquire relevant skills and find jobs.
• The platform will analyse the profiles of the job seekers and suggest the skills they would require to become eligible. A platform that addressed this challenge would help this vulnerable section of the population.
• The institute has developed the platform in association with Youth4Jobs, Visual Quest and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd.
• While IIT-H offers its expertise in AI, Visual Quest India has developed the platform. Youth4Jobs provides skilling services to job seekers.
• The project is funded by Kotak Mahindra Bank.
• There are 21 million persons with disabilities in the country. About 70 per cent of them are either unemployed or underemployed.

Why in news?

• As per the data official released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), it provided a record USD 4.6 billionin sovereign lending to India in 2021.
• This included USD 1.8 billion towards coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response.
• The $ 4.6 billion was committed by ADB for 17 loans.
• The $1.8 billion COVID-19-related assistance included USD 1.5 billion for vaccine procurement and $ 300 million to strengthen primary health care in urban areas and the country’s future pandemic preparedness.
• The ADB’s project portfolio in 2021 reflected the Indian government’s focus on transforming cities into economically vibrant and sustainable communities.

About Asian Development Bank

• The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established in 1966.
• It is headquartered in Manila, Philippines.
• It also maintains 31 field offices around the world to promote social and economic development in Asia.

Why in news?

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Patancheru, Hyderabad.
• During the occasion, PM also inaugurated two research facilities of ICRISAT, which were Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and Rapid Generation Advancement Facility.
• These two facilities are dedicated to the smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
• Prime Minister also unveiled a specially designed logo of ICRISAT and launched a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion.

About International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

• ICRISAT, is a non-profit, non-political public international research organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world.
• ICRISAT has been awarded the 2021 Africa Food Prize, for work that has improved food security across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
• ICRISAT headquarters are located in Hyderabad.
• ICRISAT was founded by M. S. Swaminathan, C. Fred Bentley and Ralph Cummings in 1972.

Why in news?

• Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly laid the foundation stone of the world’s third-largest cricket stadium in
• The new international stadium will be built by the Rajasthan Cricket Academy (RCA) on the Jaipur-Delhi bypass, over 100 acres of land in Jaipur.
• The stadium will have a seating capacity of 75,000 spectators.
• The International Cricket Stadium in Jaipur will be the second-largest cricket stadium in India and the third-largest in the world.
• Currently, Narendra Modi Stadium (former Motera Stadium)in Ahmedabad is the world’s largest stadium with a capacity of 132,000 spectators.
• The second-largest stadium is Australia’s Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)which has a capacity of 1,00,024 spectators.

Why in news?

• West Bengal government has launched an open-air classroom programme Paray Shikshalaya (Neighbourhood Schools) for primary and pre-primary students.
• Under the scheme, elementary education will be provided to students of class 1 to class 5. The classes will be conducted on ground. The students will be encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities.
• Mid – day meals will be provided.

Need for the scheme

• According to NITI Aayog, the dropout rate in primary level in 2010-11 was 6.61%.
• Also, after COVID, the number students coming to schools have decreased all over India.
• The rural areas of West Bengal do not have optimal internet services. In this condition, the open room classroom is the best way to bring in the primary school children.

Why in news?

• India has become the first country in the world to administer a DNA vaccine against COVID-19.
• The ZyCoV-D which is the World’s first plasmid DNA vaccine has been produced by Ahmedabad-based vaccine manufacturer Zydus Cadila and it was administered for the first time in Patna.
• It is the second India-made vaccine to get emergency authorization in India after Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

About ZyCov – D Vaccine

• The vaccine is to be administered only persons in the age group of 12 to 19 years.
• The ZyCov – D is administered using a needle – free applicator.
• It is a three dose vaccine. It is taken at 28^thday and 56^th day of the first dose.
• The ZyCov – D showed 66.6% efficiacy.
• The ZyCov – D vaccine was developed on plasmid DNA. In simple terms, it was developed using a piece of DNA of the weakened or killed virus. When this DNA piece is injected into the body, the human immune systems learn to respond against the virus. The plasmid is produced using E Coli cells.

Why in news?

• Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani has been appointed as the new Director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
• He has replaced Hrushikesh Senapaty, who finished his term a year ago.
• The new director has been appointed for a period of five years with effect from the date of assumption of charge of the post, or till he attains the age of 65 years, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani:

• Professor Saklani has been awarded with Distinguished Academy Award by Punjab Kala and Sahitya Academy, Jalandhar for Historical writing in 2005.
• The new director is a member of the Academic Council of Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani.

About NCERT

• The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education.
• The major objectives of NCERT and its constituent units are to:
• Promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education;
• Prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals and develops educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc. organise pre-service and in-service training of teachers;
• Develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices;
• Collaborate and network with state educational departments, universities, NGOs and other educational institutions;
• Act as a clearing house for ideas and information in matters related to school education;
• Act as a nodal agency for achieving the goals of Universalisation of Elementary Education.